Sabre Squad
by Jimbop
Summary: The rebellion is building against the Emperor. Boas Hunter is a new recruit in the galactic civil war. He decides to sign up and help try to take down the Empire. He is assigned to Sabre Squad, a small group based on a backwoods world, where they could potentially make a big difference in the war effort. The squad use their individual skills to get the job done. M-for bad language
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is a bit of a leap for me, as I have only written a couple of Twilight fics so far, for my wife, and after quite a long break I have decided to try my hand at a star wars story pretty much for myself.**

**The Characters will mostly be original but some cameos will no doubt happen.**

**My usual writing formula is to upload a chapter once a week, and I write four or five chapters ahead where I can. However I'm always willing to take on feedback.**

**Anyway, sit back and enjoy this one.**

**I don't own the Star Wars Galaxy, George Lucas and Disney do.**

Prologue

It was a bright sunny day on Corasco, just as it always was. And there I was, sitting at a table outside a cafe in Corneum town centre, sipping my Elium tea when I spotted them.

A dozen Imperial Stormtroopers, each with blasters at the ready, and all headed my way, fanning out to surround me and the six or seven others who had chosen to take a relaxing mid morning break at cafe Zax.

I wasn't going to run, and I sure as hell wasn't going to try to fight my way out of this. We didn't do things that way here. Our operation was built upon discretion and calm, not blowing everything up and killing people.

I laid my hands on the table, palm down, as the squad leader approached me, his colleagues with their sights trained on my head. Slowly I rose and faced him, hands still held out and palm down.

"Good to see you PY-6387." I said keeping my tone light, trying to scan the area. Busy street, lots of foot traffic. No, this was not a place for a fight. "Is there a problem?"

"We need you to come with us," came the slightly distorted voice of PY, "and answer some questions about missing Trailum shipments."

Now we were starting to slowly move through the tables toward the street, and that is when I saw it. A figure, no taller than I, female in form. Lithe and coiled like a snake ready to strike at any given moment. Her dark robes covered her head, mask only just visible beneath the cowl in the harsh shadow cast in the bright daylight, but nevertheless I could make out the deadly grin painted upon the mask. Her robes flowed to the dusty ground, a lightsaber easily visible at her hip.

Now I knew I was screwed. I felt a wash of relief flow over me that I had left my own sabre someplace safe today, but I quickly hid that emotion. Buried it deep down so as not to betray myself and my crew. She hung back, but was clearly in charge of the squad of troopers, and as I squinted at her, light bouncing off every surface into my eyes, she turned and strode away purposefully.

"Just play the game." Whispered PY. "She's some kind of big shot, and she needs a chat with you."

"Then why the guns, PY?" I asked. "And why the entourage?"

"Like I said, big shot investigator." He said as he gently guided me by the shoulder. Today was about to get really interesting, but the more important question right now would be how did I come to be in this predicament. Facing capture by what I assumed to be an inquisitor, held dead to rights for my part in the Tralium scam. I couldn't even talk my way out of this one, because she would never go for it, and she would probably work some force mojo on the troopers to stop them falling into my words as they always did.

More of a problem would be the inevitable questions about my past, a past that would no doubt make me of very high interest to an Imperial Inquisitor. They were always up for dealing with survivors of the purge, no matter how or why we made it this far, their job was to end us. Prevent any and all remnants of the Jedi order from banding together again.

Not that I was a Jedi. Never had been, never would be. But that didn't matter to them. To them we were against the Emperor, and we could not be left alive. Oh yes, this would be a most interesting day.

As I followed the line of troopers, their white armour reflecting the bright sun, I began to think about my path to this moment. They led me into the transport and closed the door, darkness now closing around us, small shafts of light filtering through holes in the bulkhead, probably caused by blaster fire in some long forgotten battle on a distant world.

The rocking made me sway back and forth, and I thought of the times past. The times that had brought me to this moment.


	2. Chapter 1a

Chapter 1 - The Interview

So how had I gotten mixed up in all of this? Me, Boas Hunter, average student, damn fine colonial marine, propulsion engineer and, well I prefer the term 'freelancer' but I'm sure there are many other ways to describe what I did for a part of my life.

I had experienced a few life changes along the way, each one standing to shape who I would become. The latest being my recruitment into the Rebel Alliance. Honestly not a move I saw coming until I had a long and interesting conversation with a hidden Jedi who had been tasked to find me and bring me out of solitude and into the fight. A fight where key players would prove to be more pivotal by the day, if not for their own action, then for the new recruits their influence would bring.

Why my mind would choose to settle here, focused on this part of my past, probably just serves to show the importance of the period, if nothing else, then to the situation I had found myself in. And so, where? Dantoine. A rebel base there, nothing more than a hangar and a collection of arms crates. It was in the process of being emptied, for what reason I didn't ask, but the feeling made me uneasy. The cavernous hangar should have been filled with the sounds of jet engines and astromech droids, but instead eerie silence collected in the high rafters, broken only by the occasional clatter of equipment.

I came face to face with an officer who regarded me with interest, her arms loaded with data pads, her eyes quizzical as they scanned me, failing to place me in her mind.

"Can I help you?" She asked, a humorous grin on her face. "You look so lost." Yes, I thought, I bet I do. After all I had been away from civilisation for the last six years. Six? Wow it really was. A whole lot appeared different to me now, but life was still the same. My look didn't help my cause, Renifrum Marine Commando uniform, various armour parts I had gathered over the years, and the hair and beard of a hermit.

"I was told to come here." I said, the sound of my own voice startling me a little. "To get involved. I want to help."

Her smile widened and she pointed off towards a small group of desks where several people were chatting. "Over there. Lieutenant Derice. Nice to have you aboard." She gave me an encouraging nod and continued on her way, so I slowly walked to the group of people.

When I was close enough I started to pick up fragments of conversation. Snippets about something very dangerous, and the Emperor crossing the line. Their attention turned to me when I stepped into the pool of light cast by the temporary stanchions. "Lt Derice?" I asked, and a man with a thick black moustache and white hair peeking from under his cap looked over and nodded. "I'm here to join the fight. A man named Jarrus sent me."

He rubbed his chin for a moment as he pondered what to do with me, then he stood and gestured to two others before facing me and extending a hand. "Great to have you on board, but first we need to check you aren't a spy or something," his face has grim, determined, "Hope you understand." I nodded and he gestured towards a desk not far away. "Take a seat over there and I shall be with you shortly." He said, and everyone in the group watched as I moved away, waiting until I was out of earshot before continuing their discussion, now in whispers.

I watched Derice walk away into the shadows, and when I couldn't see him any longer I simply gazed around the hangar, trying to take in all the details. Most of it was shadows. Lots of clear areas that must have contained equipment and ships, but of what purpose I could only guess. The sound of approaching footsteps from the shadows caught my attention and I saw Derice returning, flanked by two others. They came to me and sat across from me. I watched their faces, trying to read them, but they were certainly not new to this.

"Right then, let's get started shall we?" Asked Derice as he lay out some sheets of paper in front of himself. One colleague, a short stocky man with silver hair and a pained expression followed suit. The other sat motionless, regarding me with cold eyes. Derice motioned toward the latter companion. "This is Keera. Do you know his people?"

I nodded. "He is a Loxian." Derice nodded and I continued. "I recognise his silvery skin. He is an empath." It was not a question.

"Very good." Derice did not smile, and it was becoming clear he would be the only one to speak. "Then you will know he is mute?" I nodded again. "He is going to read you, and because he does not speak, he won't warn any of us if he thinks you are an imperil spy, he will just blast you, and you will be dead. Still want to continue? Last chance to back out?"

It had all become rather tense, but I was ready for the challenge. "Proceed." I instructed, fixing Keera's gaze firmly with my own. I had nothing to hide. The other man scribbled furiously on his notepad, and tapped on his datapad at varying intervals.

"Very well. Name?"

"Boas Hunter."

"Home world?"

"Renifro"

"Oh, beyond the outer rim?" His expression softened.

"Yes, in the Usam cluster. I served in the marines out there."

"I can see that from your uniform. What other experience do you have? Tell me about yourself."

"When I left the marines an officer found me a position on Corellia as an Engineer. I spent time designing propulsion engines at first, and later on weapons tech."

He pondered this for some time, as if it would be of some use. "And after that?"

"I became a..." I shifted a little uncomfortably. "Freelance."

"Ok, doing what?"

"Anything I could get myself into. Corellia is that kind of place. Robbery, heists, procurement, smuggling, mercenary, bounty hunting and..." I trailed off but he waited so I continued, "assassin jobs. They paid well."

There was a murmur from across the desk but Keera remained fixed, impartial. When he was ready, Derice continued. "So what happened next?" He asked, curiosity becoming more genuine.

"Well I went into isolation, which is where I spent most of my time until a few days ago." I said this slowly, contemplating the long six years.

"And why did you go into isolation and leave the freelance world? I would expect that was most lucrative."

"Yes, it was. But I had a job go very wrong. A lev train on Bourba, innocent people died, I couldn't face the loss so I spent time searching my soul."

"Until Jarrus found you?

"Yes."

"Do you know him?"

"I didn't, but it didn't take me long to figure out what he is."

"And he convinced you?"

"Yes. Lets just say I understand his point of view."

Derice looked genuinely surprised and looked to Keera who nodded. I was telling the truth. The other man continued to make notes so Derice pushed on. "And it was Jarrus who convinced you to join the rebellion just because he's a Jedi, you're a Jedi..." He trailed off.

"No. I may be force sensitive, but I'm no Jedi." I said quietly.

"Then why would you come all the way out here to join with us?"

"I've fought on both sides of this war, mostly for pay." I tried not to be defensive, "and I've seen what the Empire is doing to the galaxy. Destroying everything it touches. I feel like it won't be long until it learns how to destroy entire planets."

Both men regarded me with curious suspicion, while Keera continued to simply stare with no emotion. Then, just when I expected to be told the rebellion had no room for a lost soul like me, a figure came out of the shadows and approached. She was young, late teens probably, long lilac hair in a braid, uniform arranged in a neat, proud manner. She whispered in the ear of Derice and both he and the other man stood and stepped away from the interview, leaving just me and Keera.

I was suddenly aware that I could feel his presence inside my thoughts as he moved around, searching for deception. He was like tendrils of smoke, or mud clouds in thick water, drifting and constricting around my very mind. His silver wrinkled skin seemed to gleam and his eyes had a shimmer, almost indigo on top of the pure black. I inwardly flinched, just to see how he would react, and he jumped a little, his concentration broken momentarily. During that time I felt my mind relax and saw his trigger finger twitch just slightly. That was almost a very stupid thing to do. So I decided to let him back in.

Those smoky fingers were massaging the inner workings of my brain when Derice and his companion returned, without the girl. They didn't bother to sit. "Corporal Holdo has just informed me she has just spoken via transmission with commander Jarrus, and he has vouched for you." He extended his hand. "So I guess this is welcome."

I took his hand and shook it as I stood. Keera remained seated but was now smiling a wide smile. Ok, it seemed I had passed my audition. Derice placed his hand on the shoulder of his colleague, who had scooped up his notes hurriedly. "Gantz here will give you the details of your assignment." And with that he strode away, waiting a second for Keera to follow.

"Um, this way." Said Gantz, nervous. I followed, convinced he would drop his papers, but he somehow managed to keep it together and led me to another desk, this one covered in papers. He handed me a couple of sheets. "Mal Malakan leads Sabre squad, they are based on Corasco and they lost a member last week. Details are in here, you can catch a transport most of the way from here."

"Ok, thank you Gantz." I said, offering my hand which he shook weakly. "Maybe I'll see you again some time."

"Maybe." He replied and walked away. But then he stopped after a few paces and turned to face me. "Welcome to the war." He said, and again turned, this time without stopping.

I looked down at my assignment. Corasco. I wondered what kind of planet that would be.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The second interview.

When I arrived on Corasco it was a bright sunny day, the warmth almost immediately bringing forth a bead of sweat on my brow. I shuffled off the transport with two dozen other passengers, mostly tourists. I had read during the journey that this was a planet where people would visit for vacation. Corneum was a popular place, especially amongst Imperial officers on shore leave. It was classed as a relaxation spot. This I found to be quite confusing. Why was a rebel cell operating out of a place like this?

The spaceport was busy, and I wasn't expecting anyone to meet me. The dusty arrival hall was loud and hot, and I was glad not to have too much in the way of luggage. I had changed into some civilian clothes I had bought along the way, so my uniform was now in my kit bag with my other possessions. As I passed through the security checkpoint the guard gave me a look like he knew me, which wasn't impossible, as I had dealt with a lot of people, especially during my freelance years.

The assignment paperwork (now long destroyed) told me the address of where I would find Captain Malakan, so I planned to go there and try to figure out what the job entailed. I stepped out into the daylight and squinted, the light was bouncing off every surface, especially the distant ocean, right where the actual town of Corneum lay, a little distance from the spaceport which was situated in scrub land, mainly rocks, dust and the occasional withered tree.

Just as I was pondering which direction to head to try and find a ride, I felt the unmistakable shape of a blaster barrel, probably something like an MZ14 hand blaster, jammed in between by shoulder blades. A deep, husky, accented voice spoke in my ear. "Boas Hunter?" I nodded casually. This wasn't the first time I'd had a blaster pointed at me, and I was fairly sure it wouldn't be the last. "Follow me." He said, and the feeling in my back was removed. He stepped in front of me and walked at a fast stride, causing me to struggle to keep up, weighed down by my bag. I didn't call out or complain though. This was my first test, undoubtedly.

We headed down a couple of small side streets that surrounded the port and were full of market vendors, and eventually we came to a speeder, sleek and low but not in the best of condition. "Nice." I said as he got into the driver seat and motioned for me to get in. "Breyum 65? Beautiful machine."

His rugged face softened a little. "Its an old piece of shit. Breaks down more than my Astromech can handle, but what the hell, it looks good and goes fast, and thats what matters, right?" I nodded as he pulled out onto the highway and built his speed towards the town.

"So what's the deal here?" I asked once we were out of earshot of anyone and travelling at speed.

"The deal here," he replied gruffly, barely concentrating on the speeders controls, "is that you keep your mouth shut, don't ask questions and do as I say."

I nodded. "Ok, that seems, inefficient. Can't you even tell me what the job is here?"

"When I know I can trust you, thats when I tell you what the job is here."

"The guys on Dantooine didn't vouch for me?" I was a little exasperated.

"They did." He took a bite from something that I assumed was fruit, and spat half of it out into the wind. "But that doesn't tell me if you're going to run at the first sign of trouble, or if you have my back in a firefight." That made absolute sense to me.

"Understood." I said softly. This would be like my first weeks in the marines.

He pulled the speeder over and jumped out, we were now on the coast, the sea lapping at the beach down below the cliffs that bordered the road. We were at a cafe, and he was settling down at a table. The patio was busy with all sorts of people. He ordered something from a waitress who smiled longingly at him and disappeared.

"I have a task for you." He said softly, leaning back casually in his seat. When the waitress returned with two glasses he slipped her some notes and a sly wink before he took one and started to sip the green liquid. I left mine in front of me for now. "In about five minutes, one Lieutenant Yer of the Imperial navy will come and stand in front of this establishment. I need you to distract him. Make sure he does not notice me leave. Understood?" He looked at me over his glass.

I lifted my glass and put it to my lips, the smell making my nostrils dance. It was a very pleasant burn as the liquid slipped down my throat. "Affirmative." I said almost automatically.

He smiled widely "Oh, service man eh?"

"Renifro Marine commandos" I said, careful to keep my voice low and avoid any eavesdroppers.

"I was in the Ganthium second guard, fought in several phases of the later clone wars, when they started to pull in recruits, after the clones numbers started to get depleted. Always nice to work with another veteran."

"I was involved in the Ursam cluster war for a few years. The Binax triangle was brutal." This was in danger of becoming two old war dogs talking about their conquests.

"I saw the transmissions from there!" He said, sitting forward slightly. "Looked like a bloodbath."

"Yeah, I lost a few good friends there." I looked away.

"Sorry." He said and was quiet for a moment before he touched my arm. "Showtime." He nodded towards the street where, sure enough, a man stood in the grey uniform of the Imperial Navy. I stood and moved out into the road, trying to think of a tactic for this mission while Mal stayed seated, casually sipping his drink and looking off into the distance.

I had no idea what I was going to do, just wing it I guess. The officer was walking slowly up the road on the opposite side from the cafe, near the beach. He slowed and started to turn towards the cafe so I quickly closed the gap and put on my most tourist accent. "Oh hey sir, I wonder if you could help me out?"

He turned and looked me up and down. I could see his name plate has Yer embossed on it, the bronzium plating glinting in the sunlight. His shoulder pips told me he was a Lieutenant. "Make it quick" he sneered. Oh this should be easy.

""Well, see, I'm new here, and you look like a very important officer, so I thought you should be able to help out." I was making sure that I was standing between him and the cafe, and he had been trying to look around me until I mentioned the important part, at which his shoulder pulled back and his chest puffed out.

"Oh, well, you certainly came to the right man!" Wow, what a pompous ass! "I'm the ranking officer here on Corasco, and so its my business to know everything happening on this delightful backwater. Ask away." This was going to be easier than I thought. I had actually managed to get him facing towards the beach and away from the cafe, so I chanced a look over my shoulder and couldn't see Mal. He had gone.

"I only arrived this morning and I need to find a place to stay" I hoped this would work. He started to turn so I quickly diverted his attention. "Somewhere with this view." I gestured out to the ocean. "This stunning view. I bet the sunsets are incredible!"

He was now back to fully facing the ocean. "Oh it's the sunrise you need to see over this ocean. The sun sets behind you." Now he paused a moment as he thought. He slightly turned to look up the street allowing me to see past him, where Mal had his head in the cab of a shiny grey speeded. That explained a lot. "You could try Sarins, or the Hain Tower, just up there." He pointed up the street, his cuff pulling back from his black glove to reveal an expensive looking watch. That, I thought, would look great on my wrist. Another mental note for later.

"Well those sound ok," I replied, "but I'm looking for somewhere, I don't know, top class? Somewhere an important man such as yourself would stay." I grimaced a little inside. Wow, if he fell for that I would be dealing with a true moron. I took another glance back and couldn't see Mal at the speeder, so I did a crazy little pirouette, trying my best to look like a lost tourist. There he was, at the table in the cafe sipping his drink looking a little smug.

Yer looked quite proud. "Of course I stay in the Ambassador when I have to, but I would be surprised if a civilian such as yourself can afford that level." Oh I hoped the end game was to take this guy down. What a dick.

"You know, you're probably right." I said. "I'm gonna go see if I can get in the, what was it, Hain tower? Sounds great." I offered my hand enthusiastically and he took it, somewhat reluctant, allowing me to grasp his rather limp grip and shake it wildly. "Thanks, I'll catch you again sir." I bounded back across the road and into the cafe itself, keeping tabs on Yer who took a momentary glance back at the cafe, then around at the other eateries and shops in the area before he continued on his walk down the road, rod firmly inserted in his ass. When he was gone I slipped off my jacket and went out, sitting by Mal again.

"Nice work." He said, feet up on a nearby chair, looking very relaxed. "Welcome aboard." He lifted his drink to his lips, and I passed my hand across the table. What I dropped there made Mal smile a wide smile, he nodded and stood, motioning for me to followed. I noticed he was chuckling to himself slightly as he left a couple of coins on the table, right next to the imperial lieutenant insignia i had stolen from Yer's shoulder.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Sabre Squad

The speeder gently eased out of town as Mal moved it between traffic along the costal road. The breeze coming in from the ocean was gentle and warm, the planets second sun now adding a soft heat and a light blue haze. The whole place was very serene.

We headed down the main highway which was now pretty much deserted, the bustle of Corneum fading behind us. "So thats how its gonna be?" Asked Mal, still amused.

"How whats gonna be?" I asked, more in conversation than question.

"You're gonna dick around on missions?" He moved through the gears. "Don't get me wrong, you'll fit right in with the crew, but it can be a little alarming at times."

"So where are we headed?" I asked, noticing we were headed into the foothills of the mountains that were visible in the distance from the cafe.

"Basecamp, my man. Ceaz owns a farm up in the hills, and thats where we hang out when we aren't out on missions, but don't stress, I'll introduce you to the crew when we get there." He slowed as the road became narrow. "So we have a job to do here on Corasco. Not sure if you know but its the best source of Trailum in the galaxy, as well as being a bit of a vacation spot."

I nodded. "Yeah, I read that on the transport. The part about tourism anyway. It mentioned natural ore but didn't go into much detail."

"Well that ore is Tralium. Any idea what that is?"

"Sure, they use it for aiming equipment. Mainly blaster sights. Its the most accurate material available for sighting."

"How in the hell did you know that?" He asked, the same grin from the cafe playing across his face.

"I spent a few years out on Corellia designing different parts of ships and weapons tech. It was one of the things they showed us. They even use it for computer sighting in the smaller ships like Tie fighters."

"I actually didn't know that. Thought it was just blasters and rifles."

I nodded. "Yeah it helps the computers calibrate the sights or something. I never got into it too much, I was more interested in the engines."

"Well that should come in handy anyway, TT-19 isn't the best Astromech." He pulled the speeded into a farmyard and stopped in front of a large barn. Off to the side I could see a ship partly hidden by the trees. It was a Nubian M-27, light freighter. Small but fast, great for moving small shipments quickly. It looked like it had been modified a little. It was sleek, shaped like a seed pod with a tail fin. Many years ago it would have been shiny and silver but now it was covered in rust and grime, motifs spray painted on it suggested it had been parked in some less reputable areas.

We walked up to the ship and he waved a hand. "The Piccalo." He declared proudly. "I won her on Naboo from some guy. He let her go to waste hence the image but she's got a lot inside. Got me through some, um, interesting times." He ran a hand along the fuselage. Ok, this was obviously his pride and joy. He stopped and paused a moment then turned towards the farmhouse. "Let's meet the crew shall we?"

We turned and walked towards the small broken down looking house, Mal gesturing around us. "So this is a Forstus farm. Its a small fruit, they use it in that drink you had earlier." I looked around, the second sun now following the first behind the horizon casting the area in a musky orange glow made it hard to see clearly, but close up I could see the small teardrop shaped purple fruit hanging from the vines. "Don't eat them raw though." He continued. "That shit'll send you wild for sure. Some kind of hallucinogen that boils out when they get fermented. That trip is no fun man, take it from me."

I nodded and followed him through the door. Inside was dimly lit by small electric lights. We passed into a room with some chairs and a table, and plenty of screens and computers. Two man were sat in there at the table studying some papers. A beat up looking astromech sat beside them. All three turned to look. Mal spoke first. "Ceaz, Vray, TT-19, meet the newest member of Sabre squad, Boas Hunter. Grab a seat." He motioned for me to sit, and pulled up a chair of his own. The others watched me closely as I set my bag on the floor and pulled up a seat at the table, which was covered in papers and sabacc cards.

"Where ya from, guy?" Asked Ceaz as he handed me a glass of purple liquid. It smelled similar to the stuff in the cafe but this was lightly pulsing with a phosphorus glow. His skin was a light purple hue and he had big, bright eyes that seemed to take in everything.

"Renifro." I replied taking a sip of the drink, a sparkle touched my tongue and started to light my brain. "But I guess you could say my last real home was Corellia."

"Ship builder huh?" Asked Vray, thin and lean with black hair and eyes, the kind of eyes that could pull your attention. I nodded. "What discipline?" He asked.

"Propulsion and weapons tech. More propulsion though, I never got too deep into the weapons."

"Shame, we could use some good weapons." Vray said through a wide smile. He was watching my every move.

"Propulsion should come in handy though," chipped in Ceaz. "The Piccalo's been handling like crap lately and TT can't seem to find the problem."

The Astromech droid was basically a red trash can on legs with a ball like top that rotated when he moved. He whistled and beeped defensively. Mal raised a hand. "Guys, play nice huh?" He nodded towards Ceaz. "This farm is the family home of Ceaz, makes a great place to lay low when we have to. And sorry for these guys, they suck at meeting people." He grinned to himself as the others bustled. Ceaz leaned across the table offering me his hand.

"Ceaz Fagreisa, Pilot. Welcome to my home. Make yourself comfortable."

"Vray San Telesdco." Vray snorted without moving. "I guess you could call me the confidence man of the group. I do most of the talking when required." That seemed very plausible. Despite his inward demeanour towards me and his lethargic appearance, his eyes had a certain pull that could probably convince you to do anything. "Hey Mal, where's Syd? She should be here for this, surely?"

Mal shook his head. "She's on Yeusnum on a solo mission. Probably be back tomorrow." He poured another shot and turned to me. "So you wanted to know about our operation?" He asked, scooping up the cards and shuffling the deck. "First thing you need to know is this. We try not to kill here. It's a nice gig, quiet and the last thing we want to do is bring the Empire down on us." The other two murmured in agreement as they looked at their cards. "Like I told you before, the main export from this rock is Trailum."

"This 'rock' is my home, y'know!" Bristled Ceaz. "And nobody really started pulling out the Tralium until the Empire found it. Good job the ore grows back naturally."

"So do they refine the ore here or transport it off world?" I asked, trying to get my head around the operation here. It all seemed so casual.

"They refine it here." Said Mal, switching out some cards. "Just over the mountains in a town called Sacara. Then they move the refined Tralium to Corneum where it gets picked up on an imperial shuttle."

"Thats where it's most vulnerable." Said Vray as he placed his hand of cards face down on the table and took a deep pull of his drink. Night had taken over completely and the entire room was cast in the deep orange glow of the lights set into the wall. "Best place to steal it or blow it up."

"So we just disrupt the production line?" I asked, starting to bounce a few ideas around myself.

Mal took up the narrative as he lay out a winning hand and dealt again. I was glad we weren't playing for money. "As much as we can, yes. As you know, this stuff is very important in terms of weapons production. This is the only place it can be easily mined, so to disrupt the supply line here hurts the empire very much."

"There's only a small military presence though." Said Ceaz. "Which is why we can only work small scale. If we went after the mines or the refinery they would bring a bunch of guys here." He lay a plate of fruits on the table and took one for himself. "The officers here are pretty low on the ladder."

I chuckled, thinking of Lt Yar. "Ok, how about if I told you there could be a way to interrupt their supply, take the Trailum for ourselves and keep doing it large scale?" I asked. Now they were interested.

"Nice way to get our attention." Said Vray, leaning back in his seat.

"We're all ears." Said Mal eagerly. He had now totally forgotten the cards in his hand.

I thought for a moment. "Have you got any refined Trailum?" I asked. They shook their heads. "Ok, well thats easy to arrange I guess." Confusion on their faces, but also intrigue. "So I was thinking we could synthesise the stuff. Use it to replace whatever we can steal. That way we get the real stuff and the Imps end up with inferior product."

Mal laughed with Vray and Ceaz sat back in shock, saying "How in the hell have we not thought of that?"

"Well its a great idea." Said Mal, "But how in the hell are we going to synth the material?" Now the mood fell just a little.

"We build a synth press." I said. "I know how to build one, but we would need to get our hands on the parts to build it."

"So what do we need?" Asked Mal, standing and draining his glass.

"I can draw up a list. I know where to get some of the stuff but not all of it." I got to my feet and picked up my bag, sensing that the evening was coming to a close.

"Ok, well follow Ceaz, he'll show you your quarters. Its a damn sight more comfortable here than on the Piccalo, so enjoy it." He turned and walked out the room leaving me with Ceaz who was standing by my side, and Vray who was making himself comfortable, still in his seat.

"Follow me." Said Ceaz as he started down the hall. There were several rooms, and he opened a door and motioned me inside. It was basic, bed, desk, window. Nothing more needed. "It aint much, but the bed is soft." He lingered.

"Thanks Ceaz, this is perfect." I said, throwing my bag on the bed and opening it up. "And thanks for welcoming me into your home. It's a beautiful planet."

"We're a tight little family, and I'm sure you'll fit in." He said, watching with interest as I took things out of my bag. Flight suit, uniform, armour, blaster. He was very interested in the final item, a wooden box, rectangular with carvings on it. "Whats that?" He asked.

"Thats nothing." I said, dropping it on the ground and pushing it under the bed. "Nothing helpful anyway. I'll work on the equipment list and we can look it over tomorrow?" I asked, implying it was time for him to leave. He took the hint.

"Sleep well, Hunter, and welcome to Sabre Squad." He said, and he closed the door as he left.

I took out a notepad and pen, laying it on the desk. Then I placed my helmet beside it. The helmet was one I found a while ago. A clone trooper pilot helmet. The box, I took from under the bed and put it on the desk. It was speaking to me again, whispering low and warm. The feelings I began to take in were hopeful. This group wasn't a major part of the rebellion, and it knew it, but it was at least doing something. Now I had provided hope that we could do more.

I settled onto the bed and closed my eyes, hoping it wouldn't start. But it did. Of course it did.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - The First Dream.

_Darkness. It always begins with darkness. Then shapes begin to form in the distance. Hazy at first but becoming more clear. I begin to feel aware of myself. That I am standing in a room, and the shapes that are starting to some into focus are people. Lots of people. There is music also. This I know because I sense it rather than hear it. The rhythmic thrum penetrates my soul and I notice that the shapes are moving in time with the undulations. _

_I begin to move, as if moving through tar, my motion is slow. But then it becomes more free as the shapes around me continue to take on their form. There is darkness punctuated by light. The light dances in colours, colours I cannot define yet I know are there. A cloud hangs above the shapes but below the lights, and the cloud gently shifts from side to side._

_As the crowd of people begin to reach a point of focus, I notice the figure of a man. That man is clearly Mal Malakan. His hair is longer than I remember, and he is wearing a uniform of the Republic army. He is speaking to a woman. She shouts in his face to be heard above the music. I cannot hear what they say but whatever it is, he does not want to hear it. She turns to leave but he catches her arm and turns her back to him, looking longingly into her eyes for just a brief moment. In that moment he knows. There and then. He knows that she forgives him and his ready to return. To live a life with him and their unborn sun. They will live somewhere peaceful and green. Alderaan maybe, or Shiantu. That wasn't important. He was ready to leave the life of service. The pain of war to be with the woman he loved and raise his son._

_In that moment he knows his life will be everything he wants it to be, but suddenly there is chaos. She is pulled from him as the crow begins to part and those on the dance floor run for cover in the side parts of the club. He is pulled away, his hand outstretched towards hers but it falls away as she is taken by the tide. Then the concussion begins to tear though the durasteel and brickwork as the blast rips the building apart. She is gone, along with everyone on that side. The searing lick of blasters rains down as the battle droids begin to enter the club firing upon anything that moves. He falls to the ground, unable to process, unwilling to believe. Bodies cover his own and the screaming fades._

_I find myself in a long corridor, the screams still echo in my ears. There is no ceiling, instead a view straight up into the night sky and the three moons hanging in orbit. They cast a light, a dim phosphorus glow that seems to reflect on every surface it touches. There is a shape creeping into a room. I see myself, soundly sleeping on my new bed. A figure crouches by my side and pulls something from under my bed. Something long and thin. A wooden box. It has carvings on it but he does not understand what they mean. He searches for a clasp or a lock which he can smash, but finds nothing, so he sets it down and pushes it back under my bed as I begin to snore gently._

_I then call upon myself and all the power of the force._

_I open my eyes._

I opened my eyes and saw Ceaz standing by my bed. I was unsure as to wether I should play dead or make a move. I coughed lightly, and fidgeted. He straightened bolt upright, his shadow now filling my window so that all I could see of him in the darkness was his silhouette. He ran a finger over my helmets visor, no doubt wondering how it came into my possession, then left the room quietly.

When he was gone I felt under the bed, just to check the box was still there. And it was. Humming and speaking to me. Asking me to open it and take out its contents. To use it as it was intended and not leave it locked away.

I ignored the call and rolled over, soon once more consumed by sleep, but this time dark and without meaning.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - The List

Morning light brightened the living space in the house, and the four of us sat at the table eating breakfast. I eyed Ceaz cautiously as I ate. Why had he gone through my stuff last night?

I also glanced at Mal a few times. That had been his dream that he had been having, so was it real or just imagined? An actual girl he had lost or maybe just a show he had seen playing out in his sleep. Either way it was very interesting and gave me a tiny insight into his character. Dark and brooding, just the kind the chicks went nuts for, especially when accompanied by a strong jaw and great hair. But of course it made sense because he was literally broody. Over his lost love.

I decided to leave it and continued to eat. Ceaz looked up. "Cool helmet by the way, is it from the clone wars?" I nodded, looking up at him, the yellow of the morning sun lightening his purple skin to lilac. "How did you come across it?" He asked, genuine curiosity.

"Well it's a clone pilot helmet that a friend gave me when I was designing engines on Corellia. I used to test pilot my own designs so I could know exactly how they handled."

His eyes brightened. "So you're a jockey too?" He asked excited.

"Only a little. I can fly most things but I wouldn't say well. More like adequate." I took a drink of the milk, its pink tint amusing me. "That helmet was worn by a clone who escorted some Jedi on an important mission. He was injured but not killed so he hung up his flight suit and passed on the helmet, which ended up in my hands."

He was captivated by my early morning stories and I had to admit I was warming to him again, last nights snooping forgotten. Plus, I couldn't exactly question him on his activities. "Thats pretty cool. I had an uncle who piloted fighters in the clone wars, he taught me to fly."

"So." Cut in Mal, his voice dark, dripping with a slight hangover and the smell of his Kintabean Coffee. "This synth press?" He asked. Ok, so he was all business. Cool.

"I gave it some thought and this is what we need." I said as I slid a sheet of paper across the table. He picked it up and looked at it, frowning. His expectation seemed to almost instantly drop.

"Ok, thats quite a list." He said, sipping his drink. At least he hadn't dismissed it out of hand, so that was a start. "We can go through it in depth later when Syd gets back. This morning you and I are gonna go do a little recon." He fixed me with his steely eyes, but he gave nothing away. I decided the chat about his old flame would have to stay shelved for some time. He folded the list and put it into his jacket pocket and stood, placing his empty cup on the table. "Come on," he said and started for the door. I quickly got to my feet and followed, glad I had already dressed for the day and didn't need to go change from my camos and boots.

"Want us to come with?" Asked Vray, not moving from his seat.

"Nope. You guys get some rest. This list is gonna be a bitch." He was at the door. "And have a look at TT. I think he has a bad motivator coupling on his right side." The droid beeped in shock and the other two looked at him. Then we were gone, out the door and into the sun.

We climbed into the speeder. "So where are we headed?" I asked, eager to get to work.

"Over to the mine in Binhara just to check out the security." He moved the speeder onto the road headed up the hills. "Theres something I want to show you, and I need to check on something." He turned his attention to the road. Ok, no problem. Definitely not the time to discuss my vision.

We wound our way up the hills as they became mountains, the morning air was light and somewhat delicious. The second sun had started to rise so the sky was beginning to dance with colour. I could see why the guidebook said to catch sunrise.

We slipped through a mountain pass and followed the range for quite some time until we came down the slopes and suddenly stopped. Mal backed the speeder into a cave and jumped out so I followed him. We walked to the ridge and looked over, and there, in the distance, I could see the mouth of a large cave, wide open like a yawning beast, all around were stormtroopers, their white armour glinting in the daylight. Officers clad in dark grey walked around between the troopers and went in and out of a coupe of small temporary buildings going about their busy work. But of most interest was the groove in the ground that emerged from the cave and ended abruptly at a large clearing that must be the landing pad.

Mal handed me a pair of macro binoculars and I took a closer look at the activity on the ground while he began to talk me through it. "See the guy by the large building? Thats Yar, your buddy from yesterday. While he has jurisdiction here, he isn't in charge of the mining operation, that would be Lieutenant Havantas. The tall one over there talking to the troopers." I panned across to see a tall officer talking with a group of troopers. They seemed to be listening to what he had to say. "Guard is light today. Wanna go look inside?"

He didn't wait for my reply, but instead took off in the direction of the cave. We were still fairly high up when we reached the mouth, the ledge we were on ran around the rock face and into the hole at a high level. We stayed low though, so as to avoid being noticed. Inside the cave I could see the start of the mining operation, as there were several machines set up taking large chunks of rock out of the face of the mountain. Those chunks were cast backwards and smashed further before being loaded into a crate. The crate was placed on a push lev cart which was in the groove cut into the ground. When it was full a couple of troopers would push the cart down the groove and unload the crate onto the landing pad.

We stayed there for maybe an hour, just watching them work, staying silent and out of sight. It certainly seemed that Havantas had all the authority down here. Yar was almost invisible.

Eventually Mal had seen enough and we left, creeping out of the hole and along the ledge until we were back at the speeder. We jumped in and took off at pace.

"That is the operation here." Mal said. "Its not huge, but it is critical. If we can do this thing, with the synth, then we can make a huge difference."

"More than killing and dying." I said into the ether.

"I like that." Said Mal, casually swinging the speeder into another pass.

Suddenly I felt a prickle on the back of my neck. This was new. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying not to bow my head and look like I was sleeping. The sight I gained was fleeting, momentary, but it was enough. Ceaz, Vray and TT-19 standing at the table around a long thin wooden box. Just leave it Ceaz for gods sake.

"Leave what?" Asked Mal, confused.

Realisation hit me, and i figured I should probably end this or they would be at it until I did. "I'll explain when we get back" I said. "Don't those guys know the principle of someone else's property?"

Mal just chuckled as he blasted through the passes.

The two men and the droid were around the table when we arrived back at the farm house. They were drinking something from a luminous yellow bottle and they held sabacc cards. They each gave me a sheepish glance and TT whistled in what I assumed was supposed to be a nonchalant way. I walked past them to my quarters, and picked up the box from under my bed, returning to the main room where I put it on the table in front of them. They remained seated. Mal stayed on his feet, leaning against the door frame, a sparkle in his eyes.

"First of all, I need to know I can trust you all." I said. They murmured but I didn't hear what they said, as I was too busy looking beyond. Trying to see their thoughts and desires. I saw shapes and motion. Then it came in waves, not images but feelings. I was taken back for a moment and had to sit to regain my composure.

What I had felt was enough to comfort me that it was ok to open up to these relative strangers. To let them in like I hadn't with anyone in a long time. The feelings were of family. These guys belonged together and this was almost a rite of passage for them to accept me, and I was comforted by the knowledge that they would accept me. They were happy here. They were lazy and rough, but they were also genuine and true to their word.

I took their positive grumbles as affirmation. "So you want to know whats in the box?" I asked. Caez and Vray almost frothed at the mouth. Mal watched on with interest.

"We're sorry H." Said Caez, realising what he had done. "I don't know what it is about that thing but it has this..." he searched himself for the word. "Pull?" He tried, but pulled a face as if that weren't enough.

"Thats because it does have a draw." I said. But before I open it I have to tell a little back story."

"How does it even open?" Asked Vray, closely studying it. "There is no lock or catch."

"Its inside." I replied, and let him chew on that as I continued. "When I was a small child, no more than two years old, The Jedi sent a representative to take me away from my parents and bring me back to Corusant to train with the padawans." I was now sitting forward, the others were listening intently. "My parents decided that it would be too dangerous for me, as a child, to go. And that I deserved a choice. How could a mere baby make that choice. The life of solitude and learning that the Jedi would instil, or a loving home and the opportunity to be whoever I wanted to be." They nodded. I took the box in my hands. "When I was old enough, mother told me about the visit, and asked me not to reveal my gifts to anyone, because there would be those who would try to exploit them, and those who would try to harm me. As I grew up I saw the Jedi engaged in the clone wars, and the year I joined the Renifro Colonial Marines, Order 66 was given and so many Jedi were murdered. I kept my silence and used my gifts only when I had to, and never revealed them to anyone."

I took a large swig of ale from a glass Mal had given me. Then I closed my eyes and concentrated. I lifted a June fruit from the bowl on the other side of the room and slowly pulled it to myself. Their jaws hung open wide. "I was able to hide, and when I left the marines I made a life for myself first as an engine designer, then as a freelancer. Well a mission put me over the edge and I decided I should go into isolation. I had been using my skills more and more to gain a competitive advantage, not realising the risk I was putting myself in. One day I received something in the mail. After a long tedious effort I was able to discover it was a Kyber Krystal. I used some contacts and eventually found a place where I could build... well, this."

I held my hand over the box and pictured the small latch inside. I lifted the latch, which allowed my to open the box. "Holy shit." Said Mal. Vray remained silent. "Its a lightsaber." Declared Ceaz.

"I made it myself and I don't carry it most of the time because Im not good with it. I prefer a good blaster at my side."

Ceaz took it in his hand and flipped the switch, causing a purple blade to ignite. There were gasps and reverent breaths. Eventually I took it back and shoved it back in the box, snapping the lid closed.

"Can we use it?" Asked Ceaz, his eyes wide.

"What in the hell for?" I asked

"To cut stuff up and shit." Vray answered.

"Grow up." I said, getting more annoyed. "Mal, can we start looking at the list please?" The other two squabbled over the box a moment longer than was necessary, then Mal peeled himself off the door frame and pinned the list to the wall, taking out a maker and starting to write on the wall, which I realised was a plexiglass screen.

"OK, The list." Mal declared, as he wrote the words 'Synth Press' and underlined them. "Some of this stuff is gonna be tricky to get, other stuff damn near impossible." A hush fell over the room and the group was all business. I got the feeling they were just happy for a real purpose. He wrote the first item and spoke it out loud as he did. "An engine from a T-14".

"that shouldn't be too hard to get." Said Ceaz, sitting forward in his chair. "Places like Tattooine they use them on the moisture farms and stuff."

Mal made a note of that on the board and continued to item two. "Clone trooper armour."

"What in the hell do we need that for?" Asked Vray.

"To make the casing around the furnace." I said. "It will handle the heat perfectly."

"But why not regular stormtrooper armour?" He asked.

Mal answered for me. "They downgraded it when they discontinued the clones. In fact they keep downgrading it every few years. Clone stuff was much better grade." I nodded.

"I think we should be able to find that on Bracca." I said. "Its basically a huge junkyard from the clone wars, and there will be piles of armour there." There were murmurs and nods, and Mal jotted that down.

"Next up, a Walker leg servo." Now things were getting serious.

"Probably have to sneak into the factory on Sullust." Vray said, almost sounding as if he relished the opportunity. Again Mal made the notes.

"Durasteel rods." He said, writing it out. "I know a guy on Tiranium who should be able to help with those." More notes. "Next up, a memory chip from a protocol droid." TT-19 beeped and whistled angrily, but he was fine, wrong model.

"Not sure about that one" I said. "Maybe while we are on Tatooine we can see what the Jawas have?"

"I'd rather not deal with those little wastes." Sneered Vray. "I should be able to hook us up there." Mal just wrote Vray's name and a question mark. He nodded.

"A star cruiser food replicator. Are you just making this shit up as busy work?" He asked, I shook my head.

"Danego or Corellia." Said Ceaz. "Best places for parts like that.

"Alternium." Now there was a concerned murmur.

"I have no idea where we can get it." I said. "But we need it to stabilise the machine."

"No idea here." The others all chimed in. Great. Mal wrote the word 'research' and moved on to the next item, whistling long and low when he did.

"Boirgesh Inner Core. Really?"

"I throught this through and subbed out whenever I could for the easier parts, but this one I can't compromise on." I said. "The thing needs a power source, and this is the smallest, lightest, least residue creating source I can think of."

"Um, I know a guy." Said Ceaz."Can probably help, but he is Haxion Brood.

"You know Syd can't go anywhere near those guys." He replied.

"Our new guy might be ok?" Asked Ceaz, gesturing to me. Mal made the note.

"And finally, one navi comp from a YT-19. Guessing thats a trip to Corellia or Scarmene?" I nodded.

"There are some alternatives." I said thoughtfully. "But this really is the best option."

"Ok." Said Mal. "Lets get to thinking how we can get this stuff together. Hunter, come with me."

I followed him outside where we went to a small empty barn. "This big enough to put it in?" He asked.

"Yeah, this is perfect." I said, looking around. "We may have to knock a few holes but yeah otherwise fine."

"Nice." He said, again just leaning on his door. Now we were alone I asked him.

"Did you take me out this morning so they could go through my stuff?"

"Yep." He said casually, slowly walking back to the house. "They wouldn't let it drop and I figured it would be worth seeing how you reacted." He paused for effect. "You passed." He said. I chuckled and the other two arrived outside, seemingly excited. They were happy the barn would be fine. Mal took a look out into the afternoon light and declared "There's a ton of work to do. We best get good and drunk.


	7. Chapter 6

**Ok, sorry for the total inconsistency of posting up chapters, I'm normally not good in normal times, so these periods of no routine are playing havoc with every aspect. Anyway, I just completed the next chapter after this one, so I will get that posted soon. Hopefully you, the reader, are enjoying this story, and any comments at this stage would be appreciated. Anyway, enough from me, let's catch up with the Squad.**

Chapter 6 - Mission 1. Engine from a T-16

We had been in the main room most of the day, occasionally heading out into the sunlight to catch a breath of fresh air and let our eyes adjust. Simply having a mission had galvanised the team and I was happy to note that I had already been accepted. On the plexiglass wall I had drawn a crude diagram showing how the press would go together, and the guys had been adding whatever notes they could find. One issue we were going to face was funding, because the rebel alliance didn't exactly have an expenses system, and none of us were wealthy enough to be prepared to drop thousands of credits on this project. But that was ok, we would make this work.

I was sat on the couch checking listings on a data pad, Mal stood at the screen flicking through information. Vray had been reading from an old book and Ceaz was taking a nap in a seat at the table. The yellow sun had set and the blue sun was slipping low in the sky casting the room into dark shadows, the only lights coming from those closest to us that we could reach to turn on. There was a loud bang as the front door of the house slammed shut and Ceaz jerked awake. Nobody really looked interested and Mal yelled "Hey Syd, good mission?" Over his shoulder.

Her voice entered the room before she did, husky and accented, "Sure, it was an easy kill." She strode in noticing me straight away. "Who is this?" She asked, standing over me. She was as tall as Mal, blue skin and red eyes, dark silver grey hair in a plat down her back, and the kind of outfit that somehow concealed many weapons. She was a Chiss. Not a race I had ever dealt with personally but I had heard tales.

"The new guy." Said Mal flippantly, not looking up from his work. "Syd Anelyka, meet Boas Hunter." I jumped to my feet and offered a hand which she took in a strong handshake.

"What do you do?" She asked, straight to the point, red eyes already burning into me trying to read me.

"I'm an engineer." I said. "Weapons and engines."

"Good. It's about time someone fixed that stupid driod." She pointed at TT who beeped angrily. "Oh shut up you useless dustbin."

"He's kinda a Jedi too." Said Ceaz. "Kinda." Now she was interested.

"Not really." I said sheepishly. I would have preferred not to deal with this again. "I never joined the order, so I never had any official training."

"But you understand the force?" She asked.

"Yes. I have brought myself in tune with the force." I replied, using it to pull a lantern over to me. As it hung in the air I turned it on with the force and then took it in my hand, setting it down.

"Ok, that will certainly be useful." She said, then looked around. "What is going on here? You guys would normally be drunk and playing cards by now?"

"We have a mission." Said Vray. "Your boy there had an idea, so we are going to build a synth press and make substitute Trailum."

"About time we had something to occupy our time. I was getting bored of bounties." She strode across to Mal. "Take me through it." She said. It was going to be a long night.

We all followed Mal up the Piccalo's entry ramp onto the ship, he was right, it looked a lot more inside than out. The entrance led into a common room with a plexi screen on the wall and a table with some papers spread across it. To the right was the cockpit, a spacious area with six seats and a wide viewscreen. To the left ran a corridor which I assumed led to the quarters and engine room. It was simple. Not too much going on, and plenty of places to work.

Ceaz headed straight to the cockpit and jumped in the pilots seat. The ramp began to close and I felt the unmistakable feeling of takeoff, the lurch upwards and the steady incline. The ride was incredibly smooth.

"Let me give you the tour." Said Mal as the others settled into the common room and started to lay out their information. "Cockpit is pretty obvious." He pointed towards Ceaz, then started off in the other direction, shortly pointing up a ladder. "Gun turret. Its a double, front and back, so two people usually go up there if we get in a skirmish."

"Ok, nice." I said, looking up but only seeing darkness through the hatch. In the corridor proper there were eight doors.

"First six are crew quarters. We even give one to TT because why not." He chuckled, indicating the third door on the right. "That's yours. Its been emptied." He slid the door open. "Nothing special." He said and moved so I could see. there was a bed and a small desk. They filled the room, which should give you an idea of how small it was.

Back in the corridor he pointed left then right. "Shower, latrine." No need to inspect those. We moved on to the end of the corridor where there was a ladder. "Up is the rear observation bubble, down is the engine room" I followed him down the ladder. The engine was nice, very clean and well maintained, and it hummed all around us. "I've had some modifications done, increased the hyperdrive and sublights, and the handling thrusters are special design too."

I inspected the area with the respect of someone who appreciates the finer detail of a starship engine. It was a nice one. Some owners have mods and upgrades done that don't really fit the ship and its existing equipment, but Mal, it seemed, was more a connoisseur than he would let on. I also got the impression that this thing would be very fast. "I take it Ceaz has heightened reactions?" I asked.

"Yup" replied Mal. "He needs them too, this thing can get very nippy when its pushed." With that he climbed the ladder and we went back to the common room. I stooped and opened my bag, taking my lightsaber out and clipping it inside my jacket. I figured this may be the time to start carrying it.

"Just setting to lightspeed" came Ceaz voice from the cockpit, I was the only one still on my feet so I walked into the cockpit and took a seat. "Its a smooth jump on this thing." He said, pulling the levers. The stars became streaks, and then there was just the vortex of space around us as we hit light speed. There was barely a jolt as we did. "See? Smooth as glass." He smiled and got up, walking into the common room, where I followed. We all sat around the table looking at Mal.

"Ok, so we are headed to Tatooine. I reached out to a couple of guys I know and I think this is the right move." We had all been researching our own thing when Mal had called on us to board the Piccalo, but honestly the tension of working all day had been broken by this move. Any chance to get out and on the move was good. Now I guessed would be the time we would cook up our plan. The fact that we had all been dinking all day didn't seem to bother anyone, and we looked over the maps of Tatooine with clear heads.

Mal brought up the map on the main plexiscreen and pointed. "This is Mos Teyfa, nothing town with a decent scrapper" the area of map he was pointing at was in-between two large empty spaces that I assumed were dunes. "I know a guy there who might be able to help out, but if not, we may have to improvise." He moved his hand east and pointed out a large city named Mos Espa. "This is where we will have to go if we don't find anything in Teyfa. It's where the bulk of scrappers live, so I would be pretty confident we can get something there."

Syd scoffed. "If all else fails I can always just kill some moisture farmer and steal his ride?" Her comment drew slightly shocked looks. I couldn't tell if she was joking. "What? It's not like we have to be discreet here, like at home."

"And draw the attention of the Hutts?" Asked Vray. She contemplated that for a moment before shaking her head. "We may even have to deal with them at some point."

"Now that," emphasised Mal, "Is something I would very much like to avoid." Ceaz pointed and mouthed to me the word bounty. "So when we arrive Syd and I will go to Teyfa and talk to my guy, Vray and Hunter go to Espa and talk to some scrappers and Ceaz, take TT and see if you can find some farmers to deal with, maybe one has a spare they can loan us."

We all nodded, and continued to leaf through our information before the console beeped to alert us that we were about to come out of hyperpsace. This was about to get very interesting.

As the Piccalo dropped out of orbit I could begin to make out the settlements on the ground. We all took up seats in the cockpit, Ceaz at the stick, Mal by his side punching the buttons. He didn't turn as he spoke. "First stop is gonna be Espa. Then Teyfa. Ceaz is gonna take her out into the dune sea after he drops us off and see what he can find."

"Probably sand." Ceaz chuckled to himself.

"We each have a bag of june fruit to barter with" Mal continued. "Each bag is probably worth about six or seven hundred tops, maybe a little more out here because they can't grow much, but don't expect to rip these guys off, its a tough life on this dustball."

I could see the sprawl of Mos Espa approaching in the window, it looked large and dusty. Small farms circled the city as it slowly grew in size and density of buildings until we skimmed over the bustling town centre. It looked rough down there. "First stop, Mos Espa." Called Ceaz, so Vray and I unbuckled and went to the door as the ship slowed and approached the ground. Mal came back with us, and as the hatch began to open he looked at us both very seriously.

"Stay in touch on your commlinks, be careful. Don't cause trouble or draw attention, and try and keep that out of sight." He motioned to my lightsaber, which I tucked inside my jacket. "And stick together. No screwing around."

With that, the two of us quickly walked down the ramp onto the dusty ground of the hanger bay. The ramp retracted and the hatch closed, and the Piccalo swiftly moved up and away from us. We didn't stop though, we headed straight for the exit, pulling our Shemags up over our noses to protect against the dust that filled the air. It was also hot down here. Very hot. The twin suns blasted down without remorse, unlike the soft warmth back on Corasco, where the twin suns were at different distances and made of differing fire, the twin suns of Tattooine were close and unrelenting.

"This way." Said Vray as he gestured towards the street. It was narrow and twisty with lots of small vendors in doorways trying to sell anything and everything. Nothing caught my eye as useful though, so I kept the bag of fruit safely concealed in my pack. "Main street." He pointed through an archway and lead us out into a bustling city street, wide and open, filled with market stalls, people and livestock. The sounds and smells were an assault on the senses, but we had to keep moving. I swept the area and saw something that looked promising.

"There." I nodded. "Scrapper. Might be worth a look."

"You sure?" He asked, unconvinced.

"I think so. Recognise some parts hanging out front."

"Lead on then." Vray followed me to the store and we ducked inside as the wind began to really pick up, sweeping more dust and sand into the air. The store was relatively quiet, a hum of generators gave an ambient background, and the casings hanging outside clattered in the wind. There were droid parts everywhere, and several droids in varying states of build and repair. As I surveyed the environment I could feel eyes on me. Vray had no such issue, as he moved fluidly amongst the scrap parts.

Suddenly there was a cough and a wheeze as a Toydarian climbed onto the counter. His wings looked dead, and he was very old, but wise with it. His face was wary. This was going to be a tough one, but I also had a strange feeling that we were in the right place. "Help you gentlemen?" He spluttered, still keeping a wary eye on me and all but ignoring Vray.

"I hope so." I leaned on the counter, close to the host so I could whisper. "I'm looking for a ship part at the right price." I gestured around me. "My friend here says you only carry droid parts though."

The Toydarian coughed and laughed in unison, hacking up a blob of god knows what and spitting it into a jar. "Oh I have parts." He coughed again, looking me dead in the eye. "But do you have the currency to pay for parts?"

"Let me worry about that." I said softly. Vray was doing a brilliant job of wandering round seemingly uninterested, but he was actually fully in tune with everything happening, and would no doubt cut in when the time was right. "First off, I need a PPQ 3-13 servo."

The Toydarian smiled and chuckled softly. "Ahh, the TT model. Always problems with that servo. Let me suggest this instead." He reached above the counter and came down with a part. "The Le'quan systems BQ servo. It fits in the same place but is much more reliable. Fully compatible, and a better price too."

He handed me the part and I turned it over in my hand. It looked exactly like the servo I needed that was for sure. "How do I know it works?" He shrugged. "How much?"

"Hmm, that depends. Two hundred I think, on its own. But, it may be good to, I don't know, bundle with something? A ship part maybe?" He grinned a toothless grin, his squat body almost tipping off the counter. He dropped his stick and I caught it, placing it back in his hand. He eyed me again, with more suspicion.

I looked away, casually looking around at the junk piled up all around as Vray stepped out the front door to check on the storm. "E16/x" I said casually. "Incom corp unit. Five thousand model."

His face cracked with a wide smile. "Why don't you just say you want to buy a skyhopper? It would cost you about the same." He laughed a deep, timeless laugh.

"You have one?" I tried to keep my voice level and not to get my hopes up.

"Not here, but I can probably get one." He stoked his chin a moment. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Vray was back, and smoothly approaching. "Like I said though, you may as well just buy a damn T-16, yes?"

"We don't need the whole thing." It was now Vray's time to speak, and his voice was warm and buttery. "Just the engine. My uncle on Gambo has a T-16 he very much loves but I'm afraid he blew out the engine trying to keep up with some kids." He gave a convincing chuckle. "We keep telling him not to, but he can't resist a race."

"Hmm. Let me see what I can do." Said the Toydarian, plopping off the counter and walking into the rear of the building. He called back over his shoulder "Come back in a while, I have calls to make." We looked at each other and smiled. "And if you want that servo, you still have to pay for it."

I pulled two hundred credits out of my pocket and lay them on his counter, placing the servo in my pack. "At least TT should be happy." I said as we walked back out into the street. The storm had passed and the street was busy with people again, plenty of dust in the air but not so much wind, so we wandered out into the market place.

"Think he's gonna rip us off?" Asked Vray.

"I think he will try for sure." I said thoughtfully. Before I could get another word out our commlinks danced into life. I got to mine first and Ceaz' voice crackled.

"Yo guys, Mal asked me to tell you guys to head over to a place called Mos Eisley. Some stuff is going down, and if you grab a speeder ride you should be there pretty fast."

"No sweat Ceaz. Heading out." I said and cancelled the transmission, turning to Vray. "You wanna go try and get us a ride and I'll see if I can hurry our buddy along?" He nodded and jogged off into the bustle while I turned and walked back towards the scrappers. This time I was able to take in a little more, and noticed a sign above the door that read 'Watto's Spare Parts' hanging beside two mech drone heads. As I entered the sun had begun to filter through the rafters of the old building, and I was able to sense may things in here. Smells, sights, even a small sensation to explore a corner. As I moved that way I began to hear his (the titular Watto?) voice in hushed tones from the back room. I couldn't make out any words so I looked where my senses told me to and saw exactly what I wasn't expecting to see. A SynthTech GR1-X memory chip. Old and dusty sitting on the shelf among some other smaller parts. This was perfect. Out of date but the model should be equipped with the data capability I needed.

I scooped it up and quietly moved to the counter, turning the chip over in my hand and smiling to myself. Then I heard Watto's voice drifting through the curtain, clear this time.

"What do you mean you hit the pilot?" Pause while the person on the other end spoke. "I wanted you to disable the ship not maim the pilot too. How can you pose as an insurance adjuster if the mark is dead?" More silence, punctuated by heavy breathing and exasperated sighs. "Well make sure you do. This one is going to pay whatever I want for his engine. Just hook it up and tow it away." Another pause. "I don't care just do it."

I didn't wait for him to click off the commlink, I was out the door and across the street in a flash, joining Vray in the back of a beat up, dusty speeder. "Go" I said to the driver, and he took off, swerving through the crowds until he was on empty streets, and then out into the hot plains.

"What was that about?" Asked Vray.

"I think our friend was trying to set us up." I said. "Something about smashing up a ship I guess, I didn't hang around to interrogate the guy."

"Oh well thats not sporting." He replied, pulling his Shemag up against the sand that was now freely flowing around the speeder.

It was difficult to speak in those conditions, and our driver did a nice job of getting us where needed to be in as little time as possible. We jumped out and paid the man on the outskirts of Mos Eisley, another dusty bustling port town. Vray flagged down a Jawa and had a short but heated exchange with it before turning back to me. "Jutland waste, over this way, shouldn't take too long on foot."

"You speak Jawa?" I asked, always amazed to learn new things about people.

"Sure, you have to know the right people to be able to survive in some places I guess." He pointed into the near distance where I could see a small commotion around a rock formation. Light was glinting off speeders and as we grew closer I could see arms in the air waving frantically. "Mal said to meet him out here, not sure whats going on but he said it may help."

"This is one strange day." I said to myself, first feeling the shape of the chip in my pocket, then the bulk of my lightsaber in my jacket. "And I think it's going to get stranger."

As we approached the crowd I heard Mal's voice and when I picked him out I could see Syd standing by him with her rifle on her shoulder. Oh this was messy. There were about eight people surrounding a smoking wreckage. One man was limping badly and holding his shoulder, and another was yelling in his face that he had to take the wreck away. Mal was trying to control the crowd and I could see a couple of Tuscans standing just off to the side watching with interest. As I got closer I got a strange sensation, and had a flash to the shop and Watto's conversation. I could clearly hear the voice on the other end of the transmission, and it was the man in the face of the crash victim. Ok, this was maybe not so good.

We walked up to the pair, parting the onlooking crowd, some of whom were saying they saw it go down and that a gunshot had caused the crash. I could now see the smoking wreck was a T-16 Skyhopper. How convenient. The pair of us separated the victim from the shooter, me taking the latter, Vray the former. Mal and Syd continuing with crowd control. I turned the guy to face me as he became more hostile, wanting to get back to his mark.

"You don't really need to argue with me." I said, waving a hand between us, picturing inside his mind, placing the thoughts right where I wanted them.

"Ah its no good, I don't really need to argue with you anyway." He said, visibly calming down. "All I know is my boss needs me to get this pile of wreckage over to Espa."

I held my hand between us this time, feeling the link, using it to implant my thoughts into his. "Tell me what happened." I asked.

He became more docile, his face slackening a little. He was about to unload the truth so I led him away from the small gathering, taking him out of earshot. He also spoke softly. "I did as I was told. Make it look like Tuscan Raiders. Take a shot at a T-16, damage the repulsor lifter but not the engine. Don't kill the pilot. I tried to place my shot well but I cause him to veer and hit the rock. Then the other speeder came from out of nowhere."

Until now I hadn't even noticed the speeder, but when I turned I saw it. The front half was piled on the edge of the wreckage, but the rear half was a short distance away and impaled in the rock face. Now I could see why things were so testy. "It's fine." I said, voice calm and even as I spotted the speeder driver and his passenger, blood staining their clothes, dazed expressions. "We are the actual insurance adjusters and we will take the wreckage away." He nodded, concentrating on my every word. "If you wish to avoid the investigation I suggest you slip away. Maybe go off world for some time."

He nodded, and mouthed 'thank you' as he backed away from me and the crowd. Then he headed back towards the vantage point from which he had taken the shot. I joined Vray who turned to me, the victim still standing with him, now breathing heavily, but looking calm. "Are we ready to deal with the wreck?" Vray asked me, very professional sounding. I was impressed. I nodded. "Very good. We can move it now." He motioned to where Ceaz and TT were approaching with what looked like a bag of lev shunts. "These gentlemen will help us take away the vessels." Said Vray, and we helped Ceaz to fix the shunts to the bulk of the wreckage, which was actually the speeder front and the T-16.

Mal joined us now, speaking quietly to Ceaz. "When they get the engine out of the wreck, they will give you a signal. Fire a range torpedo into the wreckage. You two get clear. Stormtroopers will see it and these guys will legit be compensated."

We nodded and began to drag away the wreck once the shunts were attached. It was hot work and we kept the talking to a minimum as Ceaz disappeared with TT and Mal and Syd remained with the crowd, trying to keep them all together. In the distance I could see a small armoured transport approach. "Here come the Imps." Vray said. This was about to get interesting.

Now we were a good distance into the sand I let Vray pull the pile along while I quickly got into the fuselage. It was tough work because the repulsor lift was on fire, the fuel tank was leaking and plasma charges were spurting from the whole thing like dragons breath. Fortunately I knew my way around these engine parts, and within a few minutes I had the retaining bolts and link charges off and the thing was loose, so I quickly hauled it out and gestured for Vray to stop, which he did. I stuck a shunt on the engine and pushed it clear of the wreck, trying to hide it from the crowd where I could now see six stormtroopers investigating. I gave a signal over comms to Ceaz and whistled to Vray, who abandoned the pile and joined me pushing the engine. From out of nowhere a bright light appeared that grew along with a wooshing noise. Then the pile of wreckage that was one a skyhopper and part of a speeder became a fireball.

We had put enough distance between us to only feel the intense heat lick at our exposed flesh, then the Piccalo was right in front of us, hovering with the ramp down. TT was there, and he shot a tow cable onto the engine and dragged it on board. We followed, jumping into the ship. Ceaz took us back behind the rocks and we set back down in the mouth of a cave wiping the sweat from our brows. Then Mal and Syd appeared and we were back in flight.

"Wow." Mal said. "That was crazy. The troopers saw it go up and everyone assumed the wreck had exploded."

"Probably helped that just before the torpedo you yelled about the plasma coupling being unstable." Said Syd sniggering.

"When it went up the crowd quickly thinned and the troopers went off to get their CO. Is it right?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Its right. Also, check off number six." I held out the chip for him to see, and he smiled. "I need to run a diagnostic and see if it works. If it does we are in business.

And with that, we hit hyperspace and accelerated away from Tattooine.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Mission 2, visit to Bracca

It was evening and we were back on Corasco. The trip back from Tattooine had been uneventful, nobody really wanting to talk since we were all dusty and hot. And a little testy. Sure we had gotten the thing we went for, but more by luck than judgment. And no doubt those guys on Tatooine would be keeping an eye out for us in the future. Better to stay off that sandball for some time.

When we landed we took turns to have showers. Mal went first so he could cook us something to eat. By the time I got done in the shower the water was cold but the smell of food was strong through the house, and it was almost ready, so we all sat and ate together, each pre occupied with the days work and the tasks that lay ahead.

After eating, the others got settled into the main room with drinks in hand and some soft music playing on a radio, so I beckoned TT across.

"Hey buddy, I have something for you." I said, and he whistled and beeped inquisitively. "Check this out." I took out the servo I had purchased on Tatooine and the droid happily chirped, showing me his damaged leg. I had noticed he had been struggling on one side since I met him, so this was going to help. For the next two hours I worked on the servo, the others getting slowly drunk and passing out. When I was done, TT trilled happily and took his repaired leg out for a spin in the yard. One satisfied customer. I looked over and saw Mal was the only one awake. "Wanna get some air?" I asked. He nodded and slowly hauled himself to his feet, leading the way out into the night air. We perched on an old fence looking off towards the distant mountains and he handed me the bottle he had been drinking from.

"Good work today." He said. I nodded and took a pull of the firery liquid which made my tonsils burn and my eyes singe a little. It was good stuff. He chuckled as he took the bottle back, taking a gulp himself. "Nice to have you on board. And nice to have focus. A good mission. Something to bring us together."

"Are we waiting for morning to unload the engine?" I asked. I had been surprised when everyone had left the piccallo with the cargo on board.

"Yeah. You don't wanna try and work in the evenings here. That blue sun looks cool, but it can be very deceptive. Humid. Gets you without you noticing." I nodded again.

"I think we got very lucky out there." I said, staring up at the stars. "That scrapper was trying to scam us, and we lucked onto his scheme."

"Doesn't matter how we do it, what matters is that we have it."

"Those guys are going to want to chat the next time we go there." I said.

"We better avoid them then." He said with a grin. "Oh and thanks for the repair on TT. I guess that explains why he's been so difficult lately. You steal that part too?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, thats pretty much the only thing I bought down there."

"You paid with your own money too?" He asked. I nodded. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's nothing. I just want to help him be useful."

"Well, we may as well hit the hay." Mal said, hopping down from the fence and heading slowly inside. I stayed there a while longer, allowing the force to flow through me, feeling all that surrounded me. Vray was snoring softly, sprawled over a chair. He may not have been comfortable but his sleep was deep and content. Ceaz had curled up on the couch and was dreaming of flying. He certainly didn't hide his feelings. Finally there was Syd, breathing heavily through her nose, passed out in a sitting position with her head tilted back fully. Buy I couldn't sense any more from her. Maybe it was her Chiss mind that automatically wouldn't let me in. I decided not to probe and took myself inside, closing the door of my room after I entered and laying my lightsaber back in its box. Almost as soon as I closed the lid I could feel its whispers inside my head, and I knew I was in for another interesting nights sleep.

_Flight. A distant star system, and I'm hurtling through it at great speed. Into an asteroid belt, zipping in and out of the twisting rocks, inches from becoming purè._

_I see my target, a ship up ahead, small and agile just like mine, so I head over that way. It's my twin brother, showing me what he has as he gleefully dances around the asteroids and makes daring manoeuvres. I follow in his wake, taking each move in stride, time itself almost seems to slow down so that I can think clearly between actions._

_Neither of us see it at first, but it comes gliding along with the effortless grace that can only be a Jedi starfighter. It streaks across in front of my bother who deftly drops to avoid the collision and the Jedi continues without even noticing. Then another vessel passes, this one strange shaped, as though it shouldn't be able to fly, but fly it does. Something pops out of its hull as it speeds along, trying to match the Jedi. Something that drifts far too close to my brother. The sonic bomb rips his little ship in two and sends him spiralling into the vacuum, before the secondary blast engulfs him in flame. My ship is tossed like a cork in an ocean, thrown away from the asteroids but not before I see his demise. The planet of Geonosis shrinking in my viewport._

_Now I stand outside a familiar building. A farmhouse surrounded by Junefruit trees. A marker in the ground before me is the final representation of my brother. It is exactly ten years ago he died and I would never have any kind of closure because I would never know the Jedi nor the pilot who dropped the sonic bomb. The yellow sun climbs high in the sky and the blue sun crests the horizon causing the air to take on a slight haze. I look to the left of my brother's marker to those of my parents, their markers weathered by the sun and rain of the extra five years they have been here._

_Now I sit in a cantina in downtown Corneum. I have had a lot to drink, so my surroundings are blurry but I can still see, and I can still react within a flash. I am approached by the bandit who paid me in advance but I lost his goods. He does not look happy. He draws his blaster and takes aim, only inches from my face, and I welcome death, my downward spiral is now complete. But when the bolt cracks, it does not hit me for the blast did not come from the bandits blaster. I look up and see a tall man with great hair and a rugged jaw. He is wearing a few pieces of clone armour. Shoulder pad, forearm plate. Back plate. He beckons and I follow._

_The world fades to white and I see a rectangle. It comes into clear focus and I can see it is a box. A wooden box with carvings on it. It wants me to open it and use what lies inside. It speaks to me. "Fear the blade, you should not." I am calm, at peace. "It will show you the way." Another voice. "The path you seek is ahead of you." And another. The unseen voices whisper to me and begin to overlap until I cannot pick one from the many. Then they fall silent and one sound becomes audible. A heavy breathing. Mechanical, ending with a punctuating wheeze. The next voice belongs to that breath, and it is deep, mechanical and otherworldly. "Give in to your destiny." It suggests. "Give in to fear."_

I woke, sitting bolt upright in my bed. There was a faint purple glow from under my bed and I knew it was the Kyber crystal inside my Sabre. Its hum was just inside my head and I knew it. But that knowledge didn't help me in getting back to sleep.

I had decided to give up on sleep altogether and make a start out in the barn while the sky was still dark and full of stars. There was still a slight chill in the air and something was chirping in the distance. I started in the barn by clearing a space. Not in the centre, but close to the wall on one side, because I felt that was the best place to work. I started mentally noting the best place to set everything up. I would need to arrange some tools and a bench, and I would need to modify the structure of the building. Hiding the exhaust would be the most difficult job. If I didn't figure out that part we would be visible from orbit, and that may just give us away.

I slowly moved things around, finding an old toolbox and some rusty spare parts. In one corner, almost totally covered in hay was part of a harvest tracker. A small platform with a couple of low power repulsors fitted and a basket. That may help.

The next time I looked outside, the yellow sun was beginning to peek over the horizon where the ocean met the sky. It was sending almost luminous shafts high into the sky, and causing the darker shades to almost bleed down the curvature of the sky, diluting with the new days light. I made a mental note to watch the sunrise sooner than later.

When I was standing outside the Piccalo I sensed someone nearby so I turned. It was Syd, slowly approaching. The sun was still engaged in its dance in the lower part of the early morning sky, and a dawn chorus had built all around me. The farmhouse was still, but there she was, her blue skin catching the light in a curious way and her bright red eyes focused on me with some curiosity.

"What are you doing out here on your own?" She asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"Couldn't sleep so I thought I should start getting the barn how I want it." I took a deep breath of sweet morning air and noticed that up close and in this light she was stunningly beautiful. If Chiss were your thing. "Then I got distracted by the sunrise."

She chuckled softly. "Yes, it never seems to get boring." She walked to the nearby fence and sat on it, so I followed and joined her, a little way from the ship.

"Wow." I whispered. "The view from here is incredible." I could see down the hill across the rooftops of Corneum to the beach and across the twinkling ocean to the sun. It was beginning to settle into a gentle burn.

"Yes, its a nice place for morning coffee." She sipped from her cup and gazed out, the increasing light catching her eyes and high cheekbones.

"You don't strike me as the sunrise type." I said softly.

"Then what do I strike you as?" She said, a smile playing on her lips. She was still looking out to sea.

"I don't know, ammo, explosives, sharp objects?"

Now she laughed a little. "I can appreciate the beauty of nature as well as the efficiency of a good weapon you know." She tried to look hurt. "I am just a girl, after all."

"Uh huh." I chuckled. I knew better, and I thought she could tell.

"So you are a Jedi?" She asked, blunt and to the point.

"Nope." Her face was quizzical. "I tried to explain to the guys but they were far too excited. My parents refused to give me up to the order so I was able to live my life with force sensitivity."

"But you carry the weapon?" She said, now a little more interested in me than the morning sunrise. "Do you know how to use it?"

I nodded. "I trained for five years in solitude. I can use the thing but I prefer not to. A blaster is what I was raised with and thats what I feel most comfortable with."

She finished he coffee and stood. "You must let me try it some time. I have never wielded one before." I nodded and she turned in the direction of the house, seeing Mal approaching.

"Morning" he said, passing Syd who nodded as she passed him. "Getting some morning work in?" He asked, casually leaning where she had just been sat.

"I couldn't sleep so I figured I may as well get started with the barn. Didn't want to try and get the engine off the Piccalo and set the security systems off."

He grinned. "Smart. It's a tricky one. Hopefully you won't have to witness it." He stepped forward. "Wanna show me what we have to work with?"

The next hour was spent pointing out areas of the barn and discussing which bits of wall would need to come out. When I told him about the exhaust problem he seemed concerned. This was going to be a bigger problem than I thought. I couldn't worry about it now though, as Syd was coming back with the other two in her wake. Ceaz eyes looked bloodshot like he hadn't slept overly well. Must have been all the dreams, I thought to myself.

"So lets get this engine in the barn." Said Vray, sarcasm tinting his words. But it wasn't such a bad job, and soon we had it right where I wanted it. TT appeared at some point and pitched in, moving much more freely now he was repaired. I got the impression he may just become a little more useful himself.

When the engine was standing up in the corner where I wanted it and the makeshift bench and shelves were set up we all stood back to admire our work. TT beeped softly. "Sure is buddy." Said Mal, putting his hand on the droid's head. "Lets hope this guy knows what he's doing huh?" The rest of the team chuckled.

A few days passed without incident, before the next trip. Syd and Vray were staying back at the farm as security, so I followed Mal to the Piccalo where Ceaz took his seat and eased us up into the air, flashing across the top of the mountains and up into the sky, blue fading to black. It was then that I realised that I was hungry so I left the cockpit and took a look around the common area, calling back "What do you have to eat on this bucket?"

"Hey!" Replied Mal. "This is my pride and joy." A pause. "Top left cupboards."

"Got it." I called, taking a couple of things and sitting at the table. Mal came in and joined me, taking some food for himself. Within a few moments we heard the whine of the hyperdrive warning, and then felt the lurch as we jumped into hyperpace. Then Ceaz came and joined us.

"So," Ceaz said. "Bracca. This should be fun."

"Not for you, you get to stay on the ship." Mal replied. "No sense risking losing the ship on that junker wasteland."

"And its just the armour here?" I asked. Mal handed me a bottle and I took a drink, reeling from the bitter taste.

"From our list, yes. I wish we had a bit more progress on the Altarnium but still, if we get this, then we should be able to at least make a start."

"I had an idea on your exhaust problem." Said Ceaz. "I'll sketch it up for you when we get back but it involves running some pipes underground."

I thought for a moment. "Sure, that might work, let me know what's on your mind later, when we get back."

"Sure thing." He replied, jumping out of his seat as the alarm whined to tell us we were coming out of Hyperspace.

"You gonna be ok down there?" I asked Mal. "Amongst all that clone war junk?" He didn't speak, just nodded grimly as he rose to his feet and lead the way back to the cockpit.

Rain was deluging the planet, and we set down in a small clearing near some huge piles of junk. "Take her up to orbit and wait on my signal." Mal said, as he and I walked down the ramp and stepped into the mud and rain. This was not going to be a pleasant one.

We walked for some time, climbing amongst the old wrecked starfighters and cruisers, picking through the trade federation command ships and various other relics from the old war. There was dried blood inside most vessels, where the rain couldn't wash it away, and here or there bits of old battle droid could be seen. I feared that we may run across some dead troopers but they seemed to either have been removed or were well concealed.

After a few hours we stopped, coming upon a republic cruiser that seemed near enough intact, except for the gaping hole in its hull. "This one looks like it's not been picked over yet." Mal said. "And the armoury is on the opposite side from the hole."

"Might be our lucky day then." I replied, as we climbed in through an open hatch. It was dark inside, and dripping everywhere. Our headlamps cast the only light, as we stood in the angled corridor. This did not feel good.

"How much armour do we need anyway?" Asked Mal, a question I was amazed had not come up previously.

"Five chest plates, six back plates, and whatever else we can carry." I said, holding onto the net bag I had brought along.

"Ok, we should be fine then." He replied. "Maybe should have asked you that sooner." He was up ahead from me, so I couldn't see his face, but his voice betrayed the smile on his lips. "Come on, just up here." He said, pointing out a door. But then he stopped, looking around. When my light caught his eyes I could see they were wide.

"Problem?" I whispered.

"I know this ship." He said flatly. "The Defender. I didn't serve on it but I visited a few times. I knew men that were on it when it went down." He paused. "Clones and men." He clarified. We both stood there, in the tilted hallway in front of the quartermaster room door. Rain pattered heavily in the distance, and dripping came from all around us. There were also distant sounds of shifting machinery.

"Come on lets do this." I said. "We don't want the Ugnaughts to catch us in here. They might report us to the Imps."

"Yeah, of course." Mal replied, pushing the door open until it wedged. The gap was only a few inches, not enough to climb through, but enough to shine our lights through and see the glistening white armour inside. Nice.

"Stand back" I said softly, igniting my lightsabre and using it to cut through the door. When it was almost loose I sheathed it back in my jacket and concentrated. The hunk of door slowly worked its way loose and clanged to the floor at our feet. Mal gave me an impressed look. I gathered it was the first time in a long time he had been helped by force powers. He almost seemed to be inwardly reminiscing, so I pushed on and started to load the armour into my sack. There was more than enough here, and Mal followed my lead, placing as much as he could carry into his own sack. Then we headed for the doorway, Mal calling for Ceaz to come and pick us up. Then I heard it. A sound that made me freeze, and turned my blood to ice. The Ion engines of two Tai fighters and a shuttle. Oh dear.

"Shit." Whispered Mal, both of us staying still as the sound passed over us. They sounded low, but they did not slow, and soon they were gone. "What the hell are imperials doing here, now?"

"No idea, but whatever it is, we don't want any part of it." I said, moving for the hatch we came in through, Mal following now, fully alert. "How long till Ceaz gets here?" I asked.

"He should be here any second, provided those Tai's dont take him down." The concern was overriding any other emotion in his voice. We were in a pickle. "I wonder who is in the shuttle." We dropped out of the hatch and back out onto the wreckage of the hull. We worked our way up on top of the bridge, both to give Ceaz an easier chance to pick us up and to give us a decent vantage point to see the visitors. Mal pulled out his Mac Bins and put them to his eyes. "They landed on a dock over there." He said slowly. "Two Tai's, one shuttle. Looks like a handful of troopers and someone in a cloak." He handed me the binocs.

"I see em." I said. I could see the group, they were talking to what I assumed was the authority on the planet. "Hang on, I'll see what I can feel." I said. As I watched them I reached out with my mind, trying to feel who was here. I could feel the stench of the place, I could feel a sense of greed from the administrator. I could feel silent duty from the troopers. Then it hit me like a wave. Negative energy. Darkness. The hooded figure turned and looked in our dimension, so I lowered the binoculars and dropped to a crouch, Mal following suit.

"What did you see?" He asked.

"More like what did I feel." I replied. "Darkness. I think the one in the hood is strong with the force."

"Do they know we are here?" He was starting to panic.

"Yes." I said, softly, concern filling me. But before we could say anything else, the roar of the Piccalo drowned out the sound of the rain, and it's internal light burned bright from the hatch, ramp extended.

"Lets go." Said Mal, so we threw our sacks onboard and jumped on after them. The last thing I saw before the hatch closed was the dark figure in the distance, watching us. That was bad.

"What was that about?" Asked Mal as we made our way to the cockpit, Ceaz taking us away from the landing zone but staying quite low.

"That was definitely a force user." I said, a little out of breath. "Thats about all I can tell you."

"Probably an inquisitor." He replied. "You didn't use the force did you?"

"Um, yeah. To move that door." My heart dropped.

"Shit. Ceaz can you get us out of here please?"

"Sure, hang on." Said the pilot over his shoulder. He swung the craft violently upwards and we quickly passed up into the darkness, suddenly seeing a star destroyer in orbit. "That thing popped in before you radioed me, I moved away and kept comms quiet. Don't think they noticed me." He tapped away at the nav com. "You get what we came for?"

"Yeah, we got it all." I said. "And maybe a bit more than we bargained for." I had a bad feeling inside about this.

"Stay cool Hunter, we should be ok, they didn't get close." Said Mal, trying to keep me calm. He saw Ceaz had done with the calculations. "Punch it." He said, as the star destroyer loomed large in our viewscreen. Ceaz pulled a lever and we lurched into hyperspace.

The three of us walked back to the ready room and sat down, our pile of armour in front of us. Ceaz looked it over, impressed. It was old but it still looked good, like it could still be worn into battle.

"So what happened while we were on the Defender?" I asked Mal, snapping him out of a reverie, he looked at me, almost distantly.

"I was on that ship just before it went down. The same day as Order 66." He took a deep dull on the bottle of liquor. Ceaz and I stayed quiet, just let him go. "I had been over to give some orders, my friend and colleague Captain Gentz was taking on some of my crew and I was heading back to Courousant for a few days of R&R. I accompanied the crew and had a chat with Gentz before I went back to my ship, the Valour." He took another drink and paused a moment before continuing.

"So I was back on my ship and we had un-docked. The navigator was inputting the route details and everyone on board was relaxed. Then a separatist destroyer appeared out of Hyperspace and opened up on us. There was a battle for some time, we were backing up the Defender and our route out of here was set, but there was no way I would leave the other ship on its own against a destroyer that outmatched it." He was becoming agitated. "The Defender had a Jedi onboard. Master Se'Fa Traeano. He was leading an expedition to Ryloth, another aid mission. He was a good man, I had been on several missions with him, and he had saved my life several times." Another pause his breathing was becoming laboured.

"Did either of you see the order 66 transmission?" We shook our heads.

"I was out on a mission in the Usam cluster. We heard about it later." I said.

"It was a nice day on Corasco. We didn't hear until much later though. When I found out I got very drunk." Ceaz pondered the past.

"Well I saw it as it happened." Said Mal, picking up his narrative. "The ranking Clone on the ship was Commander Ace. I was stood behind him when it came in. Palpatine's voice on comms telling him to execute order 66. I had no idea what this meant, but my subordinate was taking an order direct from the emperor. He immediately radioed the gunner who without question blasted torpedoes into the hull of the Defender. The hole you saw earlier. The pilots then took us straight out and we were headed back to Courousant. I asked Ace what was happening and he explained what the order was." More deep breaths. More drinking.

"I couldn't accept the Jedi were traitors, so I left the service. Didn't go through discharge, I just left. Took my armour and blaster and didn't look back. I wasn't the only one either, most of the original non clone sign ups deserted at that point. There was still a fair amount of war left too. Those who stayed behind ended up as Imperial officers. As for the clones themselves, I don't know. I spent years trying to find where they went, trying to get some explanation, but I found nothing." His eyes were wet as he fell silent, clutching the bottle.

Then the hyperdrive alarm sounded and Ceaz and I headed to the cockpit leaving Mal with his thoughts. We exchanged a look as he brought us into the beautiful evening light of Corasco. The look said 'Successful mission, lets not mention the rest.'


	9. Chapter 8

**Authors Note:**

**So, chapter 8. Sorry I havent been very good at remembering to put notes on these chapters or posting with any actual regularity. I'm still working through the lockdown so finding time to write is just as hard as ever. Anyway, the story is coming along. I'm typically one chapter ahead of what I post, hence the delay in posting stuff. Also if you happen to have read any of my other stuff you may have noticed these chapters are much longer than what I would usually produce. Thats for two reasons. One I'm trying to work on keeping them longer, two I'm enjoying writing this (It's for me, for a change) so hopefully anyone reading this is enjoying it too. **

**Anyway, enough of the chatter, lets get back to the story. Any comments would be appreciated, since it's still in progress they may even help.**

Chapter 8 - Mission 3 - Sullust

The armour had been stripped, and I had panel beaten it into the shape I needed. The few parts remaining had been snapped up by the squad, not so much as a form of protection, but in the words of Vray, to look cool. As I popped the casings together with the help of TT, forming a nice barrier around the engine, Mal and Syd watched on. Mal had been quiet for a few days after our return from Bracca, but he was beginning to come back to his old self. I felt worried that he could slip at any time, as the war seemed to have been a lot of trauma for him, but for now he was ok.

As I finished sealing the seam Vray came into the garage. I stood and lifted my welding mask, Syd and Mal stood and approached. Vray looked excited. "So I have a contact who can get us the Altarnium. He said to meet him tomorrow on Malastare."

"Malastare?" Asked Mal. "Is this guy a Dug?"

"No man, he is an offworlder, but he says he can find what we need on Malastare?"

"If we leave for Sollust now," picked up Syd, "we should be able to get done there and get to Malastare tomorrow."

"Sure, sounds like a plan." Replied Mal. "We can sleep on the Piccalo. Lets go get ready, and grab our pilot." On his way past Vray he stopped. "These two missions are yours now. You got this." Vray smiled and followed him out of the garage.

Syd offered me a hand and pulled me up from my sitting position. "Looks like a busy few days." She said, almost with some reservation. "I hope Vray knows what he's getting us into."

I smiled at her. "I'm sure if it goes south we can fight our way out."

"As much fun as that sounds, especially with another mercenary, I think at this point I would rather we stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, good point." I said, following her out into the heat of the day. "What are the others like in a fight?"

She pondered this question. "We can always count on Mal. He was a good soldier and despite his lack of discipline, he is still formidable. Vray may not look like much but he can look after himself, if he doesn't slip away, but Ceaz is a waste of space if he isn't in a cockpit."

I nodded. We were close to the house now, and we both sensed it would be wise to end this conversation now. We shared a nod and headed on inside to grab our gear.

Vray, Mal and I were standing in an elevator in our freshly stolen workman coveralls. Our commlinks where whistling in our ears while Ceaz and TT attempted to establish a steady connection. We shared a glance amongst each other.

"I hope nobody finds those guys" Said Mal. "Otherwise this is going to be a very short mission."

"It's fine." Said Vray, concentrating. "They won't wake up for about twelve hours, by then we should be done."

"At least we have the uniforms and credentials we need." I said. "And it wasn't difficult to get them."

"Just concentrate, and stick with me." Said Vray. The elevator pinged and he stepped out with us following him. "I spent a while working here, this won't be hard. Provided we stick to protocol. Everyone here dies by the book."

He led us out across a plaza towards a huge factory building. It was very hot out on the surface, and there was traffic everywhere. The Piccalo was safely concealed where we had left it, on a remote dock where it wouldn't be questioned, and the additional credits we slipped the port authority should ensure that remained the case. We had decided the three of us should complete this mission because humans were running the show here now, and for a Chiss and a Corascan to show up in workwear would be very suspicious.

We walked up to the entrance where we were met by a guard. Vray had a quiet conversation with him and he stepped aside for us to pass. "Now stay alert. If you see anyone who looks important, let me know. I can get us where we need to be, but if there are imperial guards here we may have a problem. This factory only makes parts for the empire now, so we need to be cautious. They pay well. Just try to look like you belong here."

We continued on, determined. All around us machinery whirred and thumped, and workers moved with loads of equipment. There were production lines everywhere, and various items were coming off those lines and going away to be tested. Vray took us past the end line and out into a massive warehouse where a man stopped us.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, we need the AT p-2400 Servo attachments?" Vray said, very convincing.

"What does the factory need with a servo?" Asked the stores manager, obviously a man who felt he was above the common worker.

"There is a report of a faulty unit, and we have been asked to locate it. The shearing pin on the cam layer plate was offcenter for one revolution, and it only happened on one cycle. We have to find the part or it could be installed and go into you

"I'm going to have to speak with your manager first..." he never finished his sentence because I had gone behind him and used an old Ionian nerve grip to put him to sleep.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Asked Vray, angry but already grabbing the manager and moving him out of sight.

"He wasn't going for it Vray, I had to take him down before it got ugly." I replied, testy.

"I would have brought him around. You can't just go acting on instinct like that." He replied, flustered. "If someone finds him we are toast."

"It could be a problem, if he IDs us." Said Mal.

"Don't worry." I said, crouching next to him. "His mind was too strong to influence while he was awake but I can erase us now, while he sleeps." I placed my hand on his forehead on concentrated until I saw his perspective of the three of us. I used my mind to move the conversation. In his mind we said thank you and left. That was enough. Erasing us entirely would leave him suspicious, and he would be able to pick back through his real memory if he tried hard enough. The trick was to give him no reason to suspect.

"There." I said as we finished shoving him into a quarantine cage and locking it closed. "He will think we just left and he went to get something but hit his head on the shelves."

"See?" Mal asked Vray. "I told you Jedi have different ways." Vray mumbled something incoherent and lead the way to the parts we needed.

We stopped in front of a huge rack of boxes. They all contained the part we needed, so we just needed one of them. We took our factory worker uniforms and replaced them with the port authority ones we had purchased. Then I took to a computer terminal while the other two took a box from the racks.

My job was simple. Create a collection allowing the Piccalo to land, cover the Piccalo's ID, sign out the part, close the transaction. I quickly worked my way past the security layers and into the computer system. Once I had completed what I needed to do I set about covering my tracks, seeing the other two were now standing near the loading bays with a box. I waved to them and that was the signal to summon Ceaz. A few more screens on the computer told me what I needed to know so I spoke softly into my commlink "Ceaz, bring it to sector five nine twelve. Bay three. We will be waiting." Confirmation came quickly, so I started to work my way back out of the system. Then I felt something. A tightening of my heart. There was a link on the screen named Genysis. This was intriguing. I pulled a flash drive from my pocket and hit download. No time to look at it now, just check it out later. When I removed the drive a red light flashed slowly. I assumed it was just signalling I had taken out the drive without properly ejecting it.

Then I heard the pull of the Piccalo's engines as it circled down outside so I logged off and joined my crewmates. They had the bay door open, and were ready. The Piccalo set down and the cargo bay door slid open so the three of us quickly moved the box inside and stayed on board with it as the door closed and we moved upwards. We shared a relived look in the near darkness, the only light being that from the cargo bay doors.

"Come on." Mal said. "Lets get out of here."

It was morning on board the Piccalo. Once we had gotten away from Sullust we had made for Haruun Kal where we had gone into a high orbit and settled in for the night. It was a nice spot to wait out the few hours mainly because it was away from the main hyperspace routes, and the last thing we needed right now was to be inspected by the Imperials regarding a stolen part from Sullust, one that we happened to have in our cargo hold.

Because it was going to be an early start and none of us really knew what we were in for, we all laid off the Elium tea and just had a few ales. Vray had told us very little, other than that we were going to see one of his old friends, so naturally we were all on high alert.

Lucky for me my dreams had kept to themselves that night, choosing not to invade the minds of my crew mates. That was good, because it usually left me feeling tired and drained, which was not something I needed.

Now the smell of roast Kintabean was filling the air and we all ate lightly. I had considered having TT analyse the data I had found, but decided it would be best kept for another time. Nobody spoke around the table, we all just sipped our coffee and contemplated what was to come.

Then Ceaz stood and touched my shoulder. "Wanna come co-pilot for me?" He asked. I nodded and followed him into the cockpit leaving the others in silence, just a few beeps and whirs from TT. "Thanks, it's nice to have a co pilot every now and then, especially one who knows his way around a cockpit." Wow, I thought. He must really trust me already.

"Just happy to help. Not sure where best to set down on Malastare, close to the meet or walk some distance."

"Mal wants all of us there, so I guess close to the meet would be best." He said, clicking switches and punching buttons as he also pointed out the things he needed me to do. "Feels like a risk to me, since we don't really know what's coming."

"I agree Ceaz, but it's Mal's show, I guess we just do as he says." I was feeling crisp and clear right then, ready for the challenge.

"Ok, punch in five, three, altometer reading?" Ceaz was all business, and we guided the ship to the growing shape that was Malastare. Then he leaned over his shoulder and called "Mal, get up here." And within a moment the rest of the crew joined us.

"What do we got?" Mal asked, taking his seat behind the pilot.

"There's some weather down there, I won't be able to see much until we are right on top of the meeting zone."

"Ok, I thought as much. Vray, how do we know this isn't an ambush?"

"We don't" Vray replied softly. "But it's the only way I can think of us getting the Altarnium."

"Ok, I have an idea." Said Mal, always the Commander. "Syd, take a pod down to the surface, some distance from the meeting zone, find some high ground and scope the area. That way you can be our eyes, and our backup if it goes south."

"Sounds like my kind of plan." She said, getting to her feet. "See you on the surface. Stay in touch." Within a few minutes her voice crackled over the ships comms. "Ready to go." She said. Ceaz pointed out a button in a bank of green buttons, so I hit it and there was a loud clank as her pod disengaged from the Piccalo. Then we saw her in the veiwscreen as she descended to the planet.

"Ok Ceaz, take us in." Said Mal, his hand on the pilots seat. "Nice and slow, lets get the lay if we can."

"Sure thing boss." Said Ceaz as he eased us into the planets atmosphere where, as he had predicted, the weather was rough.

"Can't see much down here." Came Syd over comms. "Visibility is poor. I got myself a spot though, should be able to scope you."

"Thanks Syd, stay out of sight and switch to channel two.' Said Mal, indicating for us all to activate our personal comlinks.

"Here we go." Said Ceaz grimly as he took us into the clouds and below, the ship being buffeted by the storm. We landed softly at the given co-ordinates, and the three of us, and TT, left the cockpit to gather our weapons. I clipped my lightsaber inside my jacket, and holstered my hand blaster on my thigh, taking the rifle blaster I had been given as my main weapon. We were heavily armed, but that is what I would expect in any case.

We walked out onto the surface at the time of the meet just as the weather cleared. It was dry now, a sweet fruity smell in the air, and a fresh breeze blowing. There was a ship not too far away, and the ramp was lowering. Three figures walked down it and towards us. When I saw the face of the leader I let out a little laugh. He smiled when he saw me.

"Hondo, you son of a bitch." I said, laughing.

"Hunter! My friend! I thought you were dead!"

"Guys, meet my contact Hondo." Vray said, waving his hand. I was already embracing the pirate.

"Pleasure." He said towards Mal and Ceaz over my shoulder. "Hunter my friend, what happened to you? I heard you died in some train explosion?" We released each other and stood face to face.

"You mean that assassin job you sent me on?" I wasn't smiling now. "On Bourba? Nice easy pop job you said, just show up, take the shot and get paid?"

He held out his hands "That's what I was told... what can I say..." His smile was difficult not to copy. I let my defensive posture drop. "So where have you been? You've been missed in the old circles." The other three had come a little closer now.

"What can I say Hondo, I just needed some time to myself. That whole train thing put me off I guess." I was keeping it light now. No need to get into it with the guy now, we obviously needed him. He changed his focus onto Vray as I moved back behind the others, eyeing the two pirates who had flanked Hondo, that were now standing a little way back. I made an ok sign behind my back and heard Syd whisper in my ear that she had all in sights.

"So who am I meeting Vray?" Asked Hondo as he held out a hand to Mal who gave it a strong shake.

"This is our captain, Mal Malakan." The two nodded. "And this is our pilot, Ceaz." Again Hondo offered a hand which Ceaz took. "You obviously know Hunter."

"So Vray says you can help us with a need?" Asked Mal cautiously. "It's an important part of our operation." Hondo chuckled.

"Ha yes, Altarnium. May I ask why you need it?" His eyes narrowed inside his goggles.

"Just a little something we are working on. Need to know." Mal seemed a little defensive.

"Ok, ok, no problem, well I can get what you need, the question is what you can do for me?"

"What's your price?" There was a potential that this could get violent. "Lets not keep screwing around here."

"Sure, sure, I don't want to keep you too long." Hondo stroked his chin and pondered. "Lets say a thousand for the first shipment. Fifteen hundred a shipment after that." He pondered a little more and Mal looked pleased. "And I have a little something I need taken care of. Think of that as a retainer?" Now Mal was suspicious again, and everyone felt tense.

"What kind of something?" Asked Mal.

"Oh just a loose end I need taking care of, I'm sure you have the personnel to take care of it." He waved a hand at me. "Say, were you by chance involved in the war?" He dropped his business demeanour, going more casual now the deal was done, even without a formal agreement. "You seem familiar."

Mal nodded. "Yes, the one oh ninth. I was commander up until order sixty six." Everyone was relaxed now.

"Oh yes, yes, yes. The battle of Ba Samore?" Both men nodded, and I heard Syd whisper again on the comms, so I held up two fingers apart behind my back. All is well.

"That was us. Not a fun time. I lost too many men there. We were lucky in the end." Mal was slipping into retrospect again, so I stepped in.

"Ok guys, so when and where do we get the first shipment, and what's the job?" I said, trying to wrap things up.

"Ah same old Hunter. Always about the job." Hondo sighed. "First shipment will be in three days. I will send it directly to you on Corasco, but shall we say disguised as June fruit?" He smiled. "The job, I will have to send you the data for it. You will get an encoded transmission later today."

"Ok. Sounds like a plan. And we can count on you for..."

"No Imperial interference?" He interrupted. "Yes, that's a given. I assume this is a rebellion thing?" I nodded. "Yes no problem."

"Good. There is a presence on Corasco, so we need to be discreet." He laughed.

"Discretion is my middle name my friend." The others turned and walked toward the Piccalo but he put his hand on my shoulder so I stopped. He spoke softly "Take care. I have heard a whisper that there may be someone high up in the Empire who wants to speak with you. In my opinion that is a conversation you need to avoid." He looked around. "Is it true, the rumour?"

"What rumour is that?" I said, winking as I moved away. He nodded knowingly.

"Oh, and you can tell the beautiful sniper to lower her sights now." He smiled a sly smile and turned, walking back up his ramp.

"Syd. Stand down, we're coming for you." I said as I walked back onto the Piccalo.


	10. Chapter 9

**A.N. Wow! Its been a bonkers time here on planet Earth. Basically going to work, coming home, writing and watching youtube vids. Good job Metallica are putting loads of live stuff up. Anyway, as I post this I just completed the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy where I'm taking the story. This one is a bit different but then it's been like that most of the way. Anyway, let me get out of your way. Enjoy.**

Chapter 9 - Mission 4 Tiranium and Durasteel Rods

The plexiglass screen in the main room of the house was looking far more positive. The T16 engine, the Clone trooper amour, the Walker servo and the memory chip were all crossed out and the Altarnium was circled with a big tick. We still had plenty to do, but the current situation allowed me to really get on with creating the press.

And, importantly, Ceaz had explained his idea regarding the exhaust, and we had started to work on that too. Simply put, we were putting several pipes under the ground around the garage to take the exhaust fumes away from the one spot. They would then rise out of the ground at various points in the area. We were also going to use some old diffusers I had found in the garage to further hide the points of ventilation. Perfect.

When we had arrived back from our trip to Sullust and Mallastare we had all worked together to move the Servo into the garage, mainly so it wouldn't be hanging around inside the cargo hold if we needed to make a swift move.

After it was in place we had all gone and drunk the night away, waking the next day with very sore heads. Then the work had really begun. My personal progress was coming along excellently, and the press was actually starting to take shape. We had even been given an arrival date for the first shipment of Altarnium, something that wouldn't make the build look any better, but boy was it every critical.

The holes in the ground had kept all of us very busy for a few days, and despite pairs going off to either keep a check on the mine over at Binhara and the refinery at Sacara we had really broken the back of that job, and it was no small task.

During the several days that had passed I had not dreamed at all. I supposed that is possibly why my guard had slipped as much as it had. The five of us had finished another long day working, with a planned trip to Tiranium coming up for some of the team, another night of drinking and story telling ensued. Like every night that ended this way, Syd slipped off first to go to sleep in her room while the others would proceed to pass out one by one. Then, as late as possible, I would stagger to my own bunk hopeful that the Elium tea had dampened my inner vision and it's connection to the force. I drifted softly, quickly, into blackness.

_The void retreats slowly, and this time I'm not in the shoes of a person, I'm a mist, omnipotent, able to see all. Feel all. This is how it begins this time. Never before have I experienced this yet I feel no fear, I simply flow through the consciousness._

_White bites away at the darkness and soon enough I see a landscape of ice and snow. In my waking state I would be trying to determine my location but somehow I already know that this is Csilla. A home looms in front of me, imposing in its way, turrets of ice extend toward the night sky like frozen fingers._

_Inside the home is a small child. A girl with long silver hair in plaits and her red eyes bright, shining. She sits at a grand table, mother and father sit apart, he glares at the woman, she looks anywhere but at him. He knows. Suddenly he rises and walks to her. She remains seated but now looks at him in terror. The child smiles, wondering what game her father is playing this time. The door opens a little, but the servant does not dare enter, and it closes again. The hope on the woman's face vanishes like fog on a breeze._

_he holds out his hand, blue fingers stroke her face, running down her cheek past her chin to her slender neck. He looks at the child. _

"_Sydhalla, go to your room." He says gently. The girl remains seated, wanting to see what is afoot. And her meal is not finished. "Sydhalla Thrwan. I will not ask again." And that is all it takes. The girl rises and skips out of the room, blissfully unaware of what will pass. When the door closes, darkness._

_Now the girl is a woman. Strong and agile. She stands in rank in her stormtrooper armour, chest puffed proudly. She has passed the tests of the academy and will now be a Marine, sent to join an elite squadron of soldiers. As the grand Admiral passes the line of graduates he pauses in front of her, his smile is one of pride. Pride for his daughter living up to his expectations and not failing him like every other being he has to suffer. She is pleased to have made him proud. Her life's goal is to do this. His proud expression is indeed the highest praise she could ever hope to attain._

_She prepares for another mission, cleaning the sight of her rifle. She is the most deadly sniper in her corps, possibly in the entire might of the imperial army. A figure enters the room, he is hooded and she assumes he is simply an old worn clone, bound to sanitation. He says nothing but drops a disc beside her and leaves. Her face is quizzical. Who was this? What could be on the disc? Should she check it before the mission?_

_She stands in front of a vidscreen in the ready room. She has the room to herself as her team are now packing their gear ready for the assault on Ryloth. The screen flickers into life and it is a recording of her childhood dining room. She sees the recording play out. The man stands and walks to the woman. He sends the child, her, from the room. She knew this much, it is burned into her mind as the last time she would see her mother before she choked on her food and died. But that is not what is happening. As soon as the door closed, her father, Grand Admiral Thrawn, begins to choke the life from her mother until she is motionless. He lays her head into the plate of food in front of her and returns to his seat to finish his meal. The recording ends here._

_She wants to question it, she cannot find any fault, and for months she tries to debunk the film but cannot. Every test is passed for authenticity. It is true. She sits in the ready room, silent, sobbing. She looks up, directly at me._

"_The others cannot know." She tells me. _

"_That you know the truth?" I ask._

"_That I am a Thrawn. They will never trust me again."_

"_And why should I trust you?" I ask, not wishing to be deceived._

"_That is for you to decide." She says. And suddenly there is darkness once more._

_Now I stand on a cliff, looking down into an ocean, boiling waves crash miles below me. I do not know this place. I do know that this is me. I now have my own body and I can feel the spray and taste the salt water. And there, approaching flanked by a squad of troopers, a dark hooded figure. It pulls back the hood to reveal a helmet with a visor, and behind the visor eyes that probe me. The inquisitor drinks me in for a long time. From here I can see that her form is slender. She is coiled and ready to attack. My fingers touch the hilt of my lightsaber as it hums beside me._

_Then without warning there is a crack as a sniper round is fired from somewhere distant. I did not realise she was there, but now I see Syd in front of me, then twisting as the round rips her in two and leaves her lying on the ground. In that second I leap from the cliff and am safe. Not on the Piccalo but on another ship, smaller and faster. As I stand watching the inquisitor and her troopers slip into the distance I hear Syd's voice once more. _

"_This is why,"_

The moments between dream and waking are always something of a mystery to me. Sometimes my eyes will snap open and I am instantly fully conscious, others I can be in a state of fog for some time, unable to move, simply contemplating the message. This was the latter. I lay in my bunk for I don't know how long, and just considered the meaning of what I had seen. Generally my visions were accurate, the force warning me, so I was worried because one of my friends was going to die. Where and when I could not say.

Then I opened my eyes fully and saw her, sitting at my desk. She was looking at me blankly. "How long have you been there?" I asked.

"A few hours." Her voice was dark, she was tired. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" I asked, sitting up. "Do you have coffee?" My mind was becoming sharp, but her face did not change, she did not smile.

"The dream I just had. You were in it and it felt very real." Her voice was full of concern, but her eyes gave nothing away.

"What was it about?" I asked. "And why wasn't it just a dream?"

"Well for one it felt too real, and for another it was about things I haven't thought of for years."

"Things you've buried?" I asked

"So you did see." She stood and took a step toward the door as I was now standing myself, wrapped in my bedsheet. "You cannot tell the others."

"I know." I was sincere. She stopped and looked at me. "The force has a way of telling me these things. And I know that you are with us."

She looked at her feet for the longest moment, one hand on the door. Despite her sadness she was still a very beautiful woman. Deadly but beautiful. She looked up and fixed my eyes. "Thank you." She said flatly, and left the room.

For a moment I stood there, just thinking. The visions the force had shown me could be taken in many different ways, especially that last part, which I assumed she had not seen. That part could have many meanings. It could be a straight look at the future, or it could just mean that trusting her was correct. It could also mean that I had to save her, since I had a distinct feeling the sniper who took the shot was her. But it was far too early to contemplate such things so I got dressed and made my way into the main room where Ceaz and Vray were sat eating. Mal and Syd were nowhere to be seen and TT-19 was in a corner plugged into a generator.

"Morning H." Said Ceaz cheerily. "We were gonna take a run at finishing those vent pipes today." He took a long drink of blue milk.

"Yeah we think we can get them done. Mal is out there now looking at the casings, but he thinks its finished." Said Vray through mouthfuls of TipYip. I took a bowl for myself and started eating while Vray continued. "Might be worth going over to Sacara too, see if we can figure a way into that place."

"I've been thinking about that." I said softly. "I just need to find a willing trooper. Where do they hang out?"

"Down in the town usually." Said Ceaz. "When they get off their shifts anyhow. But they tend to stick together."

"Leave that to me." I said, finishing my food and heading outside, walking slowly to the barn where Mal was crouched over a part of the machine. "Hows it looking?" I asked.

"Secure." He said over his shoulder. "I think it's good, we need to start moving to the next parts." He had stood and was now near me when we heard a whistle. "Shit!" He said. "Imps coming, here." He pointed out a sheet which I helped him drape across the machinery. It actually blended really well into the barn and the baskets of Forstus fruits scattered around helped. "Better get inside."

We quickly hustled across to the house where the others were already. TT-19 was beeping slowly. He told me the imps had set off his proximity sensors and that they were almost here. Ok, I had been told about this situation. We gathered in the main room and Mal pointed made a calm hand gesture. We took seats and looked calm, sipping tea. Then there was a knock on the door and Ceaz went to get it. He opened it and there was Lt Yer and about six troopers. He was swiftly beckoned in by Ceaz.

"Lt Yer, many welcomes, it has been too long." He said in a simpering voice. The pompous Lieutenant lapped it up.

"Good to see you too Fagresia, indeed it has been far too long since I have been to your delightful little farm."

"What brings you today?" Asked Ceaz, the rest of us looking on with eager eyes.

"Oh nothing really, I was checking the supply routes and I realised I hadn't secured this one for a while. Lucky for you we haven't decided to use it." He smiled and Ceaz chuckled. "I see you have a new employee?" He asked, gesturing to me.

"Oh yes, the farm always needs extra hands sir, especially with the harvest season coming up." It was a good act, I was fooled.

Yer extended his hand to me. "And I see you decided to remain on Corasco?" He said, shaking my hand limply.

"Yes sir." I replied. "I saw the sunrise as advised and thought I should like to stay a little longer."

"And you have the paperwork?" He asked sternly. His troopers lingered in the doorway without interest.

"Waiting for the final documents, but yes, all should be in order." I said, producing my fake temporary work visa. He took it and looked over it slowly before handing it back to me with a nod.

"Well I hope you enjoy it here." He said, then turned, spotting Syd. "As for you, that post is still available, if you want it." He said.

"I prefer farm work." She said bluntly.

"Pity." Yer turned and headed for the exit. "Well Fagreisa, you keep a nice farm." He took a basket of Forstus from Vray with a smile. "I shall see you again soon, not quite as long this time I think."

And with that he closed the door and was gone. The six of us (including TT) relaxed as we heard his speeder start up and fade into the distance.

"Well." Said Mal who had done an incredible job of blending into the furnishings during the visit. "That was pleasant. Now, let's get back to it."

After the little visit from Yer, Mal and Syd had gone aboard the Piccalo and headed off to Tiranium to see a Guntak about some Durasteel rods. They had left without much discussion, Mal had taken a transmission from his contact and they had gone. After they left Ceaz and TT went out to work on the vent tunnels and Vray headed out in the speeder to keep an eye on the operations on world. So I was left with very little to do and my own company. This was not great news for me. Before I could even begin to question myself or have my old feelings of doubt creep into my mind I went to my quarters and changed my clothes. It was mid afternoon, so the suns were high as was the humidity, so I took a couple of Relox pills to keep me hydrated, pulled on my republic fighter pilot jacket I had won from a very angry Twi'lek on Ord Mantell, and headed out into the hazy afternoon heat.

The walk was not too terrible. It took me around two hours to walk down the rolling hillsides to Corneum, and during that walk I saw very little. An imperial vehicle passed me at one point, and I assumed it was full of Trailum and ready to be shipped offworld. I also saw a couple of Jackwolves, harmless little beasts that bounded along the crest of the hills nearby but never approached. When I arrived at the first buildings on the edge of town, following the coastal road, the yellow sun was gone and the whole area was serene blue with a close humidity. The sea sparkled and danced in this light, and it was mesmerising.

Regardless, I continued on until I reached Cafe Zax, my first stop. A quick freshen up in the restrooms and a glass of Elium Tea and I was like new, ready for the task at hand. The waitress, a pretty girl name Cuula, came and asked me if I wanted anything else while I lounged at my table, on my own, in a busy cafe on a busy street in a busy town. I told her that I didn't need a drink but that I wondered where the off duty troopers hung out. She listed six places that I mentally noted. Then I asked her what time her shift ended and she shyly told me it was another three hours away. I smiled and told her I would try and stop by later, and she left me, carrying the extra large tip I had given her.

My luck was good that night. The second place she told me hit pay-dirt. It was a dank little club down a side street with raucous laughter and loud music drifting onto the street. I paid a cover and went in, keeping to the shadows and dinking by myself. The group of Stormtroopers were not difficult to spot. All with the regulation crew cut, all lithe and fit, all stupid. They were in some kind of drinking game, obviously celebrating having some time off. The eight of them, all men, were loud and arrogant, and never noticed me as I slid from shadow to shadow, never letting them out of my sight.

When they moved on they lost a couple of their group, and at the next place, a bright disco bar with dancing girls, one vanished with a girl who I assumed was earning her living. They stayed here until they grew bored and decided to move on, so I followed them to a dive bar. This was interesting because the bar was not the kind of place you would expect to find troopers, but it was soon clear to see why, as one seemed to have a relationship with the barmaid, and he remained there with two others when the decision was made to move on. Thanks to the quiet bar I had been able to listen to most of their inane chatter, so I now knew they were headed to a private sabaac game in an underground casino. Perfect.

I waited a little before entering, making sure they were safely inside, and when I got in I found them talking to a doorman as I went to a table to play Bort. They were not discreet and they were quite drunk, so I easily heard them trying to get into the game in the back room. Then one of them decided the buy in was too much and staggered off into the night.

This left one, who had gone into the back room to play. I hung back, taking part in a game close to the doorway so I could keep an eye on matters. Then I saw my chance. He had gotten into an argument with one of the other players, something related to cheating and payment. They had agreed to roll a chance cube. If it came up blue, then he could leave with his winnings. Red, however, would not be good for him. They threw the cube and I mentally took it in my had, making sure it landed on red. Then I quickly exited, taking the few chips I had earned with me. He was in the back alley when I got there, three thugs around him. One took a shot at his gut and the trooper fell to his knees. The three toughs laughed. Then one took out a blaster so I decided I should probably intervene.

They never saw what hit them, and within moments they were lying unconscious in the gutter, the blaster safely stowed in my pants. I helped the trooper to his feet and started moving him down the alley. "Let's get you out of here." I said.

"Who are you?" He asked groggily hanging onto me for stability.

"For now I'm a friend, come on." I said. We went for a couple blocks until I was sure we were far enough from the casino and decided to get inside. We went into a canteena, small and dank, but at this time of night, or early morning, empty. I ordered and paid for a couple of drinks and we went to a booth.

"What's happening right now?" He asked, drinking his drink and looking around nervously.

"Well I would say we're lying low right now after I saved you from those guys." I took a drink myself, eyeing him over the glass. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Oh man yeah, thanks, I thought I was gonna die out there." He said, looking a little pale now the adrenaline was beginning to fade from his blood. "I suck at gambling man."

"Yeah I gathered that. What's the occasion?" I asked.

"First leave of the season, and one of my friends just became a dad." He smiled and raised his glass in a toast, so I followed suit, thinking I sure hoped I wouldn't end up killing the father of the child I just toasted. "I think there's something in the air out here, you get drunk real fast." He started to focus a little better. "Hey, is that a republic fighter jacket?" He asked. I nodded. "Where'd you get that?" He was upright now, ready to listen.

"It's a long story, passed down through generations." I said, trying to keep some mystery in my voice. "So what unit are you?"

"Oh I'm in the guards, sent to the quietest rock in the galaxy to mind shipments of some metal as they go from a refinery to a shipping yard. What a life." He sighed. "When I joined up they told me I could go to all sorts of exotic worlds, have all kinds of fun. Never thought I would end up on this dump." Now his head hung a little. "And I cannot get behind these guys in charge, they think they own everything and can just destroy whatever they want."

For a few hours he babbled on, me just nudging him a little all the time, and when I had to I would massage inside his mind into going more the way I wanted it to. Eventually, as the yellow sun was just filtering through the windows, I saw my chance.

"You know, you could help me out." I said, finishing my drink. "Me and my companions are working on something, but we need an inside man, and you are just the guy."

"Really?" He seemed excited. As excited as a very tired man could be.

"Yes, it would be a great purpose, and you could finally contribute." I motioned with my fingers and his eyes clouded over ever so slightly. "Meet me here in two nights, at eleven. I will bring what is yours, and explain what I need." He smiled and nodded. "And now, go home, and rest."

We both stood together and walked out of the canteena and headed in separate directions, nodding as we parted. That was easier than expected.

It was around lunchtime by the time I got back to the farm. The yellow sun was high and the blue sun was beginning to rise. I had missed the humidity, but it had been a very dry dusty walk, and when I got back I had to get some liquid. Lucky for me there was plenty of Elium tea and Helgus liquor around, so I helped myself, standing in the kitchen. I was standing taking a long pull on a bottle when Ceaz walked in and saw me, doing a little double take.

"Oh hey man. You just got back?" I nodded. "You been out all night? Good time?" He had a knowing grin, assuming I had spent the night in someone else's bed.

I shook my head. "I was working." I said, only just realising how sore my throat was. And how much my head was starting to hurt. I needed some sleep. "Getting us an inside man. That synth tralium isn't going to just switch out with the real stuff." I scratched my chin feeling the rough stubble. "Is there any Kintabean left?"

He nodded and pointed. "So what, you got us a quartermaster or something?"

"Nope. Trooper. The one in charge of transporting from the refinery to the port." I smiled, seeing his face light up.

"Nice. You know, if this machine works, I think we might have a shot." He said, taking the bottle from me and drinking from it. Just then there was a commotion from outside, the sound of the Piccalo's engines coming in to land. Shortly after Mal appeared in the doorway.

"Get your asses out here and help us offload these rods." He barked. "These things are heavy." And with that he vanished back outside. We looked at each other.

"I'm not sleeping any time soon, am I?" I asked. He laughed and nodded, putting his arm around my shoulders as we headed out.

"Pal, I don't think any of us are sleeping any time soon." He said, laughing.


	11. Chapter 10

**Ok so my momentum is building here, really enjoying writing this. Warning though, this is my new PB for longest chapter. It's a big one. But then there is a lot happening as we are in the crucial pivot point of the story. Right, enough of my babble, on with the show.**

Chapter 10 - Haxion Brood

I was in the barn with Vray, carefully lifting a rod into place which helped make up part of the press mechanism. It was long, slow and tiring work, and we had been doing it all day while the others went about their business. TT-19 was still working on the Piccalo, which had taken a bit of damage on the last mission, and the other three were all off checking on the Imperial operations. Vray handed me a wrench. "Think this is actually gonna work?" He asked, holding the frame steady as I tightened the bolts.

"I have a good feeling, yeah." I said, pulling another connection tight. "How's that?"

He gave the rod a tug with both hands. "Solid." We stood and looked at our progress. "Is that about it?" He asked, both us us dirty and sweaty.

"For now, yes." I dropped the wrench in a box with the other tools and we headed out into the evening where the blue sun was alone in casting its mystic light across the land. "We really need that core though. Without it, this whole thing is a waste."

"Ceaz did mention he may have that in progress." Replied Vray, handing me a bottle. I took a swig, the cold liquid burning my throat as it slid down. "And what about the exchanges?"

"Yeah, the exchanges." I said. Tonight was the time to meet my contact. "Come with me tonight, we need to make the first exchange." I passed him back the bottle and he looked thoughtful.

"Yeah ok, I want to see your mind powers in action anyway." He waved a hand mockingly and grinned at me.

"Stop that, its serious. I need to concentrate when I do it and if all I can picture is you goofing around it won't work."

He laughed. "Ok man, come on lets get ready."

We got to the house and went in, TT-19 just behind us. He whistled and beeped to let me know he was done working on the damaged thrust stabiliser and was going to recharge. That droid never went more than a day without recharging. It was as if he was a reflection of the group of lazy slackers I had joined, but it didn't make him any less loveable now I was used to his mood swings.

Mal and Syd were sitting in the main room chatting when we walked in, they looked up at us expectantly. "Done as much as we can without the core." I said and Mal nodded. Syd just continued drinking.

"Good. Ceaz got a call today. He has a meet for the core." Mal was inspecting a star chart as he spoke. "It's going to be risky though. These guys in the Haxion Brood aren't exactly a reputable bunch."

"Need anything specific?" I asked.

"Another ship would be helpful." Said Syd sullenly. "A fast one."

"Oh I can help there." I said. "Before I disappeared I left my ship in storage." I was sitting now, at the table with them, as Vray ventured into the kitchen for food.

"Tell me about it." Said Mal, very interested.

"It's called the Angel's Kiss. I took it from some guy I was paid to assassinate. The fee was awful but the condition was that I could take whatever belongings I wanted. The ship was enough." They both looked at me intently. "It's a modified RGX-14." I said softly.

"Holy shit" came Vrays voice from the kitchen.

"Really?" Asked Mal, his face lighting up. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" He seemed suspicious.

"Well, a couple of reasons."

"Go on."

"First, I'm not proud of how I got it. The kid I took out probably had a future." They nodded in agreement and understanding. "Second, it has no weapons, it's just really fast." Ceaz had appeared out of the darkness and there was a twinkle in his eye at the mention of the word fast. "Third, I sort of forgot. It's been a long time. And fourth, I don't even know if she will still fly let alone go fast."

"Where is it?" Asked Ceaz, barely able to contain himself.

"Courousant. In a quiet little suburb with the storage paid for the next twenty years."

Mal stood. "Then I guess we're going to Courousant. Is that the three seater?" I nodded. "Perfect. I can't wait to see this hunk of junk."

Vray then handed me a ronto wrap. "Dude, we better get into town."

"Ok, you guys prep for Courousant, and conjure a plan for these brood guys, we need to go take care of something."

And with that, Vray and I left the building, jumping in Mal's speeder and heading off into town.

Our journey was quiet, both of us thinking hard about what was going to happen in the next day or so. When Vray pulled the speeder into an empty space on a beachfront lot I looked at him. "I need you for this Vray, we have to sell this guy on helping us."

"No problem. Sales is my middle name." He followed me as we headed to the canteena where I had left my new friend a couple of nights ago. We went in and got drinks, taking a seat in a shaded booth where we could keep an eye on the entrance. While we waited we chatted. As usual Vray was trying to get me to talk about the Jedi stuff, but I wasn't going for it. I needed to channel my concentration, and now was not the time to give a demo. I asked him a few questions about his upbringing, but he was evasive. Exactly as I knew he would be. Soon enough his dreams would invade my thoughts, but until then I would let him be a mystery.

Then a lonesome figure came in and went straight to the bar, getting a drink and looking around. It was him. In a flash I was by his side. "You showed up." I said flatly, giving nothing away to him or anyone who may have followed.

"Yes. I think I finally found my cause." He said. I indicated our booth and let him lead. As far as the force could tell me, he wasn't lying.

"Were you followed?" Asked Vray as he slid into his seat. He shook his head. I nodded. It was cool "I'm Vray and this is Boaz. What's your name."

With a moments hesitation he spoke. "PY-6837. Sargent at arms, head of logistics on the Corasco operation." We were all very serious.

"You have what I need?" I asked. He nodded so I showed him what I had. It was worth a few thousand credits. "Do you have a real name?" I asked.

He shook his head. "They assign us numbers and our names are burned from our memory. They say it didn't used to be that way, that troopers were just ordinary men and women recruited from around the galaxy, but there is so much brainwashing now, we cease to be people and just exist as numbers."

I shook my head gently, all three of us sipping our ale. "In that case your name is now Psy." There was a quiet moment as that sunk in.

"Ok, that fits." He said.

"And you really want to help us?" Asked Vray.

"Yes. I've seen what the empire is doing here and elsewhere. It isn't just about indigenous life and plants, its civilisations and societies. They want to assimilate the galaxy into their way of thinking, the moffs, the lords and the Emperor himself." He took a long, nervous drink. "The way I see it, that may as well be an end to this beautiful diverse galaxy we live in. I've seen so many creatures, been to so many places that hint there is so much more out there, I have to live in this place."

We nodded. Fine. I slipped him the credits. "So tell me." I said.

"Ten days. A shipment will leave the refinery and go to the port. It will arrive in the early hours and sit unguarded on the pad for approximately thirty minutes while I perform my final inspections of the shipment and its transport packaging. During that time, you do what you have to." He slid me a disc. "Times, co-ordinates. Sizes of planned shipments."

We stayed for a few hours, drinking, I pulled him immediately away from the conversation into sports and entertainment and we simply shot the shit until we decided it was time to go.

Before we parted, the three of us exchanged a glance, and a nod. Game on.

When we came out of Hyperspace at Courousant the whole group was onboard the Piccalo. We were rested but hyper. The others were extremely excited to see my ship, especially Ceaz who told me he had grown up watching shuttle racing, and the RGX-14 had been a monster in its heyday, scooping all titles available. To me it had been a tool, something I used to get around quickly, but I also knew the truth that the kid I took it from had been a racer himself, and this had been his race vehicle. I never bothered to research it though, and it wasn't that long before I went into isolation. In fact you could say the job was a big part of my downward spiral.

And now here we were. I didn't even know if the thing would still be there. So much had happened over the years that the empire could easily have taken control of the storage facility.

The planet loomed ahead of us, a grid of lights and motion. There were several star destroyers in orbit, and many other ships of various kinds, and as we approached the perimeter a voice came across the comms. All five of us were in the cockpit, and all of us were silent.

"Please state your designation and business" said the voice. An imperial officer an the nearby destroyer. It was Mal, the captain, who spoke.

"This is Captain Felicity of starship Aura, my crew and I are scheduled for maintenance in the sixteenth sector." He sounded very professional. Like he had done this before. "Sending our security clearance now." He nodded to me so I punched a few keys, copying the code that was taped to my console. I hit send and we waited. Ships zipped all around and finally we heard the static crackle on the radio.

"Clear to proceed Aura." We each looked at one another. So far so good. "Lane eight, oh, seven, six is currently open." Continued the voice.

"Understood." Said Mal, and Ceaz pulled us though the blockade and down into the atmosphere.

"Captain Felicity?" Asked Vray, and we all turned to look at our captain.

"Someone I served with. He went down with his cruiser at the battle of Phan-Tao. Good captain, but the seppies out gunned us. I was lucky to get away." That was enough to answer that. We continued in silence on our course, Ceaz skill fully taking us down into the correct lane, following the mid size freight traffic until we came to a landing spot close to the co-ordinates I had provided.

The five of us exited the Piccalo followed by TT. It seemed everyone wanted a look at the shiny new toy. Mal turned on the ship's security and we headed off a few blocks in the bustling city to the storage location. The sixteenth sector was an industrial area with lots of docks and retail areas, so the foot traffic was heavy. It was the first time I had been to Courousant since my isolation, and it had changed an awful lot. Before there was a friendly yet worker like feel about the place, like everyone had a job to do and they were just going about it in their own way. They would keep to themselves, but not be rude or ignorant. Now it felt totally different. There was almost an aura of fear and oppression. I understood the Emperor had been cracking down on all activity lately, both legal and illegal, but this was a feeling like somebody could go to jail for looking in the wrong direction. I didn't like it. There used to be an underlying feeling of danger in some places, just like in any city around the galaxy, but now it was more like a blanket feeling of impeding doom.

We kept our heads down and made the long walk to the storage facility. I was relived to see the sign hadn't changed. Memories were beginning to fire in my head.

_The day I brought the Kiss here. It was early in the morning and my head was pounding from the drink I had taken down the night before. The explosion still rang in my ears, and I could see the faces of the passengers of the train, frozen in horror before the blast ripped through the steel like it was paper. Faces swam in front of my eyes, faces of those who's life I had ended. One kept coming back as I brought the kiss to land on the pad of the storage facility. A young Twi'lek, a racing prodigy who wad already won numerous championships and was destined for greatness, but refused to play ball with the Hutts, and so had earned a price on his head. A price I was willing to take. I could still hear his voice, and it almost made me biff the landing._

"You with us?" Asked Ceaz, snapping me out of my daydream.

"Yeah, sorry, just remembering the last time I was here." I strode out in front and walked through the door. The sign outside was a symbol, a Kaeton Eagle, but inside the was a reception desk with the name of the company on it. "Salt's Storage." I said as the others followed me in. I dinged the bell, and an elderly Quarren male stepped out of a doorway to greet us.

"Can I help you." He said, not really in the form of a question. He looked like he had seen plenty in his long life, but the air of suspicion about him prevented any conversation outside of the necessary.

"I'm here to collect." I said. He looked me up and down slowly, and when he was satisfied he placed a data pad on the counter.

"Fill this in." He said, all business, no warmth at all in his voice. This job could really be done by a droid. The others stood behind me looking around at the pictures on the wall, pictures mainly of Mon Cala, some of a large Quarren family. Nobody spoke though.

I completed the pad and handed it back, then passed over my ID key that had been given to me when I left this place last. "All in order?" I asked. He nodded and disappeared back into what I assumed was his office, appearing a few moments later in the corridor around the corner.

"Gimme a second." He said, punching a code into a door lock and entering another room. The door clicked closed and we waited.

"Charming fellow." Said Syd in a low voice. We all sniggered, loosening the air a little. It had become slightly too tense, and I wasn't sure why.

Soon the door clicked open again and he appeared, closing the door. "Follow me please. Unit 918B. Your deposit." He handed me a credit slip. "Value covers the remainder of your storage."

I pulled a pad from my pocket and tapped a few keys, causing another credit slip to appear, which I handed over. "This is to cover any... inconvenience." I said, and he took it, giving me a knowing look.

"Thank you. Come on, this way." He motioned us to follow and we did, down a long hall and up a couple of flights of stairs. Finally we were walking down corridor one on floor nine, and we stopped in front of a door with a large eight and a large B on the front. He took a key card from his pocket and slipped it into the reader, the door clicked and opened, revealing a dark room. He snapped a light on and we all followed him into the space.

Under the dim lights was a sleek ship, short with a snub nose and two fixed wings protruding from its upper mid section. The thrusters sat dormant on the fuselage, a cluster of four on either side. She was exactly as I had left her.

The Quarren, who I now recalled was named Forgo Salt, ran his hand along the side of the ship. "As per your instructions, we had it cleaned three times a year. I wanted to get it serviced, but you never instructed that, and the funds were tight."

"Did you use a discreet cleaning service?" I asked.

"My brother. I take it this thing is..." he paused, thinking of the right word, so I dropped it myself.

"Sensitive? Yes. I just hope it's been long enough that nobody recognises her." He chuckled and pressed a button that caused the roof to slide open, showing the outside world.

"Well, it's a beautiful racer. Pity the empire put a stop to the racelines." The roof clanged into its fully open position and he gave the ship one last look. "I'm going to miss her." He gave the steel one last pat, then headed for the door. "Take your time. Since you can't all fit in there, I guess some of you will be leaving on foot. Just make sure the roof is closed and the unit door clicks when you leave." He nodded to me. "Take care of her." And then he was gone.

When the door clicked shut Mal let out a low whistle. "She's a beauty." He said in a reverent voice. "If this thing gets off the ground it will be prefect."

Ceaz had already taken the key fob from the wall and was opening it up. "Oh baby." He said as the door opened and he looked inside. "It feels fast without even moving." He inspected the thrusters. "Quad plasma jets on both sides." He was trying to contain the drool. "Mercury based stabilisation. Etherium outer shell."

I put an arm around him and guided him to the cockpit. "Calm down buddy, we need you to fly her, not make love to her."

"Same thing in this instance." He said, sitting in the pilots seat. "To get the best out of a ship like this you need to connect, feel it. Not just treat it like a chunk of metal." He ran his fingers over the controls and they slowly came to life. I remembered now, the lights inside never blinked straight on, instead they faded on, gaining in brightness. I was getting a special feeling.

TT had come on board followed by Mal, Syd and Vray remaining out in the hanger. The droid beeped and whistled.

"He says he scanned her and she seems fine." I said, a smile now playing on my face. Mischievous. "Shall we?"

Ceaz hit a few buttons and the drive started up in a low bass hum. Mal hung out the door and called to the other two. "You guys wanna go back to the Piccalo and take her out? He asked. They nodded. "They won't ask for clearance when you leave." They both looked relived as they turned and headed out of the hanger.

"Have fun." Called Vray as he left. "I want my go, remember that."

Mal and I took our seats in the cockpit. Co-pilot for me, navigator for Mal. TT plugged into the mainframe behind us, locking into the navicomp. I sat forward. "I had a lot of mods done after I got her. Like adding the two seats and the storage bays in back. You could live in this thing for a short time. It would be cramped but you could do it. Only thing I never got done was the weapons."

Mal smiled. "Lets give her a try then shall we?" He asked, licking his lips. "Ceaz, take her out."

Ceaz eased the throttle and the low hum gradually wound up the scales getting higher and higher. The ship gently pulled up from the ground and I hit the landing gear control. "I can't believe she flys so well after all these years." I said, but Ceaz was in the zone, concentrating. We gently went up into the traffic lanes, watching the roof below us close back up. Then Ceaz looked over at me.

"It wants to go. I'm using everything I have to fight it, so bear with me. Should get easier when we get to open space." With that he slipped into the traffic lane and we followed a surge upwards into the stratosphere, passing through the thick layer of pollution in the sky. Then we were back into the blackness of space, freighters all around us, the star destroyers looming in orbit like huge wedges of cheese. We eased out, past the blockade and into free space. There we waited until the Piccalo caught us up. Vray's voice came over our comms.

"Angel's Kiss, this is Piccalo, ready to go, over."

"We read you Piccalo." Mal was all over it. "Get to the rendezvous on Horuz and be ready. TT will send out a distress signal if things go awry on Ordo Edris."

"No problem, see you soon." Crackled Vray. Then he cut off and we simply hung in space, looking at the Piccalo from the outside, which was a strange perspective. Then her sublights fired up, and she jumped to hyperspace.

"Lets see what this bird can do." Said Ceaz, as he pulled back on a lever and pinned us all back to our seats. This was going to be fun.

After about an hour of zipping around the Cadimimu sector, Ceaz was finally happy with the controls. "Man, I could marry this thing." He said. "Once you get into its head, its like a bullet that can change direction."

"Speaking of bullets," said Mal, "Some kind of weapons would be real nice. This thing doesn't even have shields."

"She won't need em with me flying." Said Ceaz. "If we have to break through anything, I doubt they will catch us. Not even the new TIE interceptors would struggle to keep up."

"I hope you're right." Said Mal, not looking up from his work of programming the Navi comp. "We ready to do this?" He looked around and the two of us nodded. TT even beeped. "Ok, comp is set, punch it."

With that I pulled on the hyperspace lever and we pulled onto the higher speed register. When stars were no longer visible through the vortex of hyperspace, we got out of our seats and moved to the rear of the ship, which wasn't exactly spacious. I had long since cleaned out the supply boxes of food and drink, but what I showed them next brought big smiles. I hit a button and a hatch slid open to reveal several rifles and blasters. Some thermal detonators, and a sight pack. "You said we needed weapons." I said, and Mal started laughing. "Little something I picked up from working with Mandalorians, always have a secret weapon stash. Had this installed the day I got her."

"Nice." Said Mal, picking up one of the automatic rifles. "Very nice. These should do." He looked at me. "Did you bring your sabre?" He asked.

"Yeah, its here." I lifted my jacket showing it tucked in the holster under my arm. "Thought it may help us."

"Yeah, I get that feeling too." He said. Ceaz was still casually looking around, not quite as interested in the weapons now he had picked up a hand blaster.

"There's not much space in here." He said. "Although I guess if it was built for racing it would need to be light. And its luxurious compared to a TIE fighter."

"You've flown a TIE?" I asked.

"Sure. Theres not much left in this galaxy that I haven't flown. Except a star destroyer." He shuddered. Before anyone could say anything else, the navi comp started beeping in the cockpit. "Wow, that was fast." Said Ceaz as he headed up front.

"Buckle up." Said Mal. "This ride's about to get bumpy." I pulled us out of hyperspace, and there in front of us in the middle distance was a small asteroid field. Nothing huge, just a collection of huge rocks all gathered around one large one, probably big enough to have its own gravity.

"Ordo Eris." Stated Ceaz. "Get ready. This is seedy gambling paradise. You step in here, be ready for anything." Mal and I looked at each other with worried expressions. "It's cool though, I know these people." He tried to give us a reassuring grin, but it had pretty much the opposite effect.

"Just get us in there." Said Mal. Ceaz silently worked the controls, weaving his way through the smaller asteroids on the outer edge of the field.

"Apparently this used to be a planet." I said, remembering from what I had read in the data files. "It was mined for it's precious materials until it became unstable." Mal looked at me, alarmed. "Oh that was like, a thousand years ago, in the days of the old republic." He heaved a long breath. "When the planet broke up, the Fenarios in it's core became easier to mine as it was embedded in the rocks that make up the asteroid belt. The main chunk of rock, Ordo Eris, wasn't mineable though, because when the Fenarios reacted with the surrounding space it created a toxic gas. That gas eventually burned off, and a few mining ops were attempted but none were successful, so the place was abandoned. Looks like our buddies moved in and created an illegal casino."

"Well you're just a regular guide book, aint ya?" Said Mal with a grin.

"It's a maze down there. They have prisons and fight arenas and all sorts. Be on guard." Ceaz spoke as he worked. "This is the landing pad." He manoeuvred us into position in an empty dock and we jumped out, giving each other stern looks. TT stayed onboard as security. The last thing we needed was some sleemo stealing the ship from us.

A huge bounty hunter droid loomed in the doorway. When it spoke, it's voice was deep and heavily modulate. "Purpose?" It demanded in basic.

"Here to see an old friend." Said Ceaz, heading up our group.

"Name." Came the response.

"Ceaz Fagresia. Here to see Zan Tormo. I have an appointment." The droid was silent as he processed this. We looked at each other a little worried. Fighting this thing wouldn't be easy. Finally it spoke again.

"Wait by your ship." It commanded, then backed out of the door, closing it on its way out. We were now pretty much sealed in the landing bay with the Angel's Kiss. Again we exchanged looks as we waited.

"What's taking so long?" Asked Mal. "I don't like this."

"Don't worry, it's cool. We go way back." Ceaz was trying to be reassuring but not doing a great job. I was itchy. As in my hand was perched over my blaster ready to go. Finally the door slid open and the three of us dropped to fighting postures. Instead of the droid, an Umbaran walked though the door, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ceaz you piece of shit! How ya been? Got the money you owe me?" He was tall, pale blue and well built. His bald head had markings on it, and a scar ran down the left side of his face, running under an eye patch. He wore a sharp suit but with a blaster hanging by his side and a grenade belt around his chest. He was pumping Ceaz's hand. "Who in the hell are these guys?" He asked, first getting a good look at Mal. "Oh shit, Malakan? You still running with that whore who did this to me?" He pointed to his eye.

"I see her once in a while." Replied Mal, taking his hand.

"Next time you see her, giver her one of these for me." Said Zan, gently slapping Mal's face. "Tell her I'm gonna find her."

"Yeah, I'll tell her." Said Mal through gritted teeth.

Then he stepped round Mal to see me. "Well, well, well. Boaz Hunter. It seems the reports of your death were greatly exaggerated." He sprang forward and embraced me. "Where the shit have you been? I could've use you on a dozen jobs, more."

"I had some stuff I needed to do." I said uneasily. "A two week break turned into years." He laughed a hearty laugh, deep and infectious.

"Oh man, I could go for some quality down time like that but Sorc keeps me busy all the time." He shook his head. "Boas friggin Hunter, in the flesh." Now he turned to Mal. "As much as this guy owes me", he pointed to Ceaz, "I owe him." He pointed to me. What do you guys need?

"Boirgesh Core." Said Mal softly.

"Inner." I interjected. "About fifteen Tamlons of it." Zam let out a low whistle.

"You know how much that's worth on the black market, right?" He asked. I nodded. "Well I can't just let you have it for free." He smiled a wicked smile.

"We don't have time for the tables." Said Ceaz. "This is urgent."

"I don't think that's what he has in mind." I said, and his grin broke wider. I thought for a moment. Most of all I was annoyed at myself for not asking the questions that would have made me realise this path of action would lead me back to my old bounty hunter friends and their lair. That said, they had moved since I was last active. There was only one way this was going to go down, and he was eyeing me expectantly. "I'll do it." I said, and he laughed.

"Perfect. You go with the Oog and I'll get the materials loaded on your ship." He paused just a moment, for effect. "When you die, where do you want your remains sent to?" He was smiling that smile again.

"Home, just like always." I said. Damn, this was a complication we could do without.

The other two came into the ready room as I was preparing, trying to remember everything I used to know. I hoped my more recently acquired skills would help, but hell, this could easily go sideways for me.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Mal asked, standing with his arms folded.

"I did a few prize fights for these guys." His face fell. "Fights to the death. I guess if I win it's all cool."

"And if you lose?" Asked Ceaz, struggling to stay calm.

"If I lose, make sure it gets built. We need that thing. Did you get the core loaded?"

"Yeah." Mal nodded. "They made us leave our guns on there too."

"Well it is a casino." Said Ceaz. "Kinda."

"Look." I said, pulling some tape across my knuckles. "I've done this before, five wins. Let's see what happens. Zan owes me one from a while ago, had I lost he would have taken control instead of his brother Sorc, so he's gonna make this hard, but I got it."

"You damn well better have." Said Mal, as he and Ceaz were ushered out by a couple of pit droids. Oh I hoped I did too. Since I got the choice of one weapon, I scooped up my sabre and headed to the door that would lead me into the main arena. These rooms were often used as either cells or dressing rooms, depending on the willingness of the participant. They had a similar setup in their last base of operations.

The door slid open and I walked out into the arena. I had removed my jacket so I was going to fight in a vest and my combat trousers and boots. Fine, didn't make a difference to me. I looked up to see two tiers of balconies surrounding me in a circle, and directly across from me a huge bounty droid. A massive hologram of Zan appeared in the centre of the wide open arena floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a time honoured tradition!" The crowd roared. "Today we have a surprise treat for you. First up, is our latest model of bounty droid, Yumux 309." There was a huge roar. "His choice of weapon, guided plasma missiles!" The massive red painted droid lifted its arm and fired off a couple of shots through the open roof and off into space, roaring in a deep undulating voice as it did so. Enough to scare the crap out of anyone.

"And returning from I don't know how many years of retirement, from the Ursam cluster, please welcome our challenger, Hunter!" Again the crowd roared, no doubt placing their bets. "He chooses to carry an archaic weapon, the weapon of the Jedi of old, the lightsaber!" There were several murmurs in the crowd. I was exposing myself here, and taking a huge risk. "Without any further delay, fight! To! The! Death!" A bell rang and the droid began to advance, stomping as it did.

Two plasma bolts came hurtling my way, so I used a force push to deflect them into the wall. The crowd roared its approval. The droid leapt into the air, covering the gap between us, coming to land on one knee right where I had just been standing, but now I had moved faster than light, and stood behind it, flicking my blade on, the purple flashing across the back of the droid. It wheeled an arm across and round in a massive blow, but I was quick enough to move, having expected that. A force push sent the machine sprawling but it soon got to its feet and took aim, blasting four missiles at me, so I took off in the opposite direction, pursued by the heat seekers. A couple of flips and slides later and there was only one missile left. I let it get as close as I dare, facing away from my opponent, then I spun on my heel, arm outstretched, creating a well in the air. The missile followed my motion, trapped momentarily in the gravity I had conjured, then I hurled it like a slingshot back at the droid, who could not get out of the way in time, and took the blast full force, taking off an arm.

The thing screamed a terrible scream and rushed me, managing to land a blow on my ribs, which made me immediately spit blood and reel backwards, gasping for breath, but I had no time to worry about that as the next attack came, a boot to the chest which sent me hurtling backwards and dislodged my un-ignited sabre from my hand, skittering away on the arena floor. The beastly machine again leapt into the air, it's intention obviously to finish me with a crushing blow from above. I waited until it was almost on top of me then called my sabre and plunged it deep into the thing's nerve centre. It buzzed and squealed, crashing in a heap on the floor.

I stood, eyeing the crowd but acutely aware of it's whereabouts. It sprang into action again, fully engaged, serrated blades extracted and ready for the kill but I rolled around it onto its back and took full opportunity, sticking my fingers under its chest plate and pulling. When the internal circuits were exposed I slammed my other hand into the hole and grabbed the motherboard, tugging with everything I had left. The thing came away in a shower of sparks, and the droid limply fell to the ground. The crowd were now cheering my name as I stood over the fallen pile of scrap parts, ignited my purple blade and sliced off what remained of it's head.

A bell rang and a couple of pit droids rushed out to me. They were painted in black and white stripes and they lifted my arms in the air.

Just as I was enjoying my moment, a blast rippled through the side of the arena and there was a sound of a thousand beings screaming. Shortly after that, the howl of countless TIE fighters as the dived in on the planetoid ripping off shots as they did.

I leaped up onto a railing and pulled myself into the stands right where Mal and Ceaz were standing. "Get to the ship!" I cried. The three of us took off at a run, the ground shaking under our feet and rock falling all around us. We found ourselves in a corridor faced with Zan and a dozen henchmen. He did not look happy.

"You led the empire to us?" He said. It was an accusation, not a question.

"No!" I yelled. "My ship is un traceable. They must have found you by coincidence."

"Bullshit, you sold us out you waste!" He levelled a blaster at my head. "This is the last time you fuck with my operation. Welcome to the end..." There was a whistle behind us and Zan looked past us, a look of horror filling his face until the split second passed and a blaster bolt rang out. His body crumpled to the ground minus it's head.

We spun round to see Syd holding her sniper rifle and Vray shouldering a heavy automatic. The henchmen took the cue and dissipated. Mal ran to Syd.

"Boy am I glad to see you." He said. "Were you tracking that thing"

"It showed up on our scoped just before it got to you." Said Vray. No idea why a star destroyer would be here though."

"Maybe it's searching for something." Said Syd, eyeing me. "Or someone." Ceaz had gone to the others and now I was standing a little apart from them. Another huge blast shook the ground and a fissure opened in the rock at our feet, separating me from them.

"Get to the Piccalo and meet me on Corasco. I can reach the Kiss. I think." I yelled. The others nodded, all except Syd, and headed off the way they had come.

I went down the corridor and found myself in another viewing box in the arena. There were stormtroopers now starting to swarm, and a shuttle was coming in to land in the wide open space. I leapt down onto the arena floor and sprinted for the door to my changing room from before. As I did, the shuttle finished landing and a few troopers ran down the ramp. I got to the door and forced it open, grabbing my jacket and other things, and then headed back out into the arena where I could see a cluster of troopers surrounding a slender figure dressed in black who was choking one of the custodians. Suddenly the same dark feeling from Bracca came over me. The urge to allow it into my mind was strong but I resisted.

Then the figure turned to look at me, sensing me. I heard her voice. "Him! Seize him!" And suddenly I had a bunch of troopers on my tail as I ran flat out, getting back out of the arena and down a corridor. A shot ricocheted off the wall near my head and sprayed me with rock dust. Then I was there. I spoke into my wrist "TT I'm coming in hot, fire her up" as I arrived at the door I burst through and ran straight up the ramp, diving into the pilots seat and hauling the controls as the troopers arrived and started to open fire.

The Kiss lifted swiftly and pulled away into the sky, suddenly pursued by several TIE fighters. I used every trick in the book to shake them until there was one left, chasing me around the rest of the asteroids, until TT finally told me he had finalised the calculations. I didn't need a second invitation, and yanked back the hyperspace lever, lurching forward into hyperspace and safety.

When I arrived back at the farm I was hot, sweaty and tired. TT-19 was rolling alongside me complaining about the heat, the terrain, the dust, the journey and literally everything else. It was almost dark and the lights were on in the house, so we rolled on in. When we entered the main room, all eyes were on us.

"Ok." Said Mal, hostile vibes coming from all angels. "What happened?" I pulled up a seat and grabbed a bottle as TT headed off for some charge. Mal was in a chair at the table, tilted back casually. Vray was stretched out on the sofa, Ceaz hunched in a soft seat and Syd was perched on a stool by the kitchen.

"I think I'm being tracked." I said slowly. "Or at the very least, hunted."

"By who?" Asked Ceaz voice full of concern.

"I don't know. I mean, I have some ideas but I don't know for sure, it's mainly rumours."

"Try us." Hissed Syd, eyes narrowed, hand hanging near her holster on her hip.

I took a breath. "Any of you know what Inquisitors are?" I asked. They all nodded slowly.

"I thought they were a myth." Said Vray in wonder.

"Didn't they vanish? After the purge?" Asked Ceaz.

I shook my head, but Syd answered for me. "They went underground after the purge. They were able to catch more former Jedi and force sensitives that way. They planned to stay underground and let themselves become a ghost story, allowing their quarry to come out of the woodwork, into the open where they could be easily picked off." She sneered. "You brought one to us didn't you?"

"It picked up my scent on Bracca, and on Sullust. I don't know, more a feeling than anything else but that destroyer must have been somewhere in the area when we got there because that ship cannot be tracked."

Mal nodded understandingly, remembering Bracca. "Speaking of that ship, where is it" he asked in a quiet, even voice.

"I put it in a cave near Binhara. Just something I thought about. A potential weak point in the rock structure. We had to hump it back on foot, which is why TT has the shits on right now. I tried to get him to crack that data I picked up on Sullust but no joy."

"Well I guess we have to be careful now." Said Vray, looking at the others. "There's no way we can abandon this."

"He's right." Said Mal, standing. "We've come too far, and we are too close. Everyone get some sleep. We need to take a trip to Corellia tomorrow. I want to get this done sooner rather than later." He walked out of the room and down the hall. Everyone else was silent, and when I had finished the bottle I went to my quarters and passed out before my head hit the pillow.


	12. Chapter 11

**So this Chapter I want to dedicate to a good friend of mine who has been reading this story, Reece, hope everything gets better for you mate.**

**So, onto another chapter. A day off work and I was able to get a massive chunk written which is always helpful. Here we progress the story just a little more, and are reminded a little of the other things happening in the galaxy during our timeline, because while not specifically relevant to my story, the main events of the timeline are always generally relevant to any story in the Star Wars galaxy. Anyway, enough philosophy, Let's get into it**

Chapter 11 - Corellia and random ship parts.

_As always, it started gently. Sleep had come over me swiftly, and now, in the middle of the night, the dream state came over me. I'm sitting in a diner on Alderran with my dad. People say I look just like him. That's a crazy thing to say because he's a grown up and I'm just a little kid but whatever. The waiter comes over to talk to dad. _

"_Goh San Teledsco!" He says. "You got a nerve coming in here, and using your boy as a shield? Really?" _

"_Hey Ubo, relax, I just wanted to talk." Says dad, turning on the charm. "And get the boy the best damn Batuu-Bon in the galaxy." The waiter relaxes and scribbles on his notepad._

"_It's a pretty good Bon." He says, smiling. "What about you?" He waits for dad to order._

"_I'm not really hungry Ubo, just grab me a black caf." The waiter smiles and heads away, dad leans in close to me. "That's how you diffuse someone you scammed in the past boy. Charm." He smiled at me and gave me his wink. His wink was possibly my favourite thing in the galaxy._

"_Dad?" I ask. "When we're done here can we go to Tosahries?"_

_He chuckles "Sure thing son, I just need to talk to Ubo here, then we can go get you some Minoshans, that sound good?" It sounds great so I nod eagerly._

_Soon enough Ubo comes back with my Bon, which is amazing. Dad sips his Caf and Ubo sits opposite him, beside me. Dad speaks first. "I'm gonna cut the shit Ubo, I need you. I need a man of your talents." His smile drips with charm._

"_Last time you needed me I ended up in the pen on Naboo for two years." Ubo isn't smiling any more. "I had a family, good job, nice house. You shit on that my friend." A blaster hums under the table._

"_This job will get all that back for you." Says dad. "The Trade Federation are up to some silky stuff right now, and they have a lot of capitol in a vault on Degar. Getting in won't be difficult, but getting out, that's the hard part." He smiles as he steals a bit of my Bon. I look up indignantly. How dare he? He continues his pitch. "I have the rest of the crew, just need you, and nobody in the galaxy can do what you do." Now Ubo is quiet and his blaster deactivates. _

"_What's the score?" He asks._

"_About five hundred." He pauses. "Thousand." Ubo chokes a little. "Shall I take that as a yes?" Ubo nods. "Good. The trade federation have battle droids appearing out of nowhere, so I found where the payment is coming from. This vault, it's not well guarded, but it is said to be difficult to..." he stops speaking because a waitress has arrived at our table. She hands a box to dad._

"_Some chuba over there asked me to give you this." She says. Dad chuckles and opens the box, looking in the direction she pointed. Three Genarans are looking intently. Dad suddenly looks panicked, something I have rarely seen, he looks at the box and reads aloud._

"_This is for Emara." Ubo is somehow able to grab me and pull me clear of the blast, but dad isn't so lucky. The sprinkler system kicks in and water rains down from above, smoke billowing across the ceiling. The three Genarans run out as Ubo takes shots at them. I see my dad. But as the smoke clears I realise it is only part of him._

I woke in a cold sweat from that one. Terror was still gripping my heart as I tried to settle back to sleep. That one was too real.

Mal and I were in the cockpit of the Piccalo heading toward Corellia. Just the two of us and TT in the rear. I was piloting while Mal navigated, but now we were in hyperspace we had time to sit.

"So." I started. "Just the two of us then."

"Just the two of us." He replied. "The guys were very freaked out by what happened back there."

I shrugged. "It's not the first time we almost encountered an inquisitor."

"It's not just that." He replied, staying calm and even. "The whole thing got weird from the start, including going to get the Kiss." He took a deep breath. "The fight was just crazy, and having a whole damn imperial platoon come after us?" He sucked in another breath. "And I figured if you are being tracked, let's keep you away from Corasco huh?" I nodded. It was hard to disagree with his logic. "So if they are tracking you when you call on the force, please don't use it here."

"Ok, that's fair." I said. "Sometimes I forget. When I was doing bad stuff I wouldn't think twice." I sighed. "I'm sorry about that stuff though. I guess my past was always going to catch up with me and bite me on the ass."

He chuckled. "Well I guess we knew we were getting something a little different when you joined us." He paused to contemplate. "One question. You said you weren't great with the sabre. That was a lie wasn't it?"

I nodded. "Got a remote?" He nodded. "Turn it to it's top setting." He took a ball from a drawer and tapped some buttons as I walked into the ready area. He threw it at me. The thing zipped around me and just before it fired a bolt I flipped out my sabre and ignited the purple blade, quickly angling it different ways to deflect the bolts. At no point did I miss one, and my motion was fast and fluid, never stopping, never jerking, just continually preempting where the strikes would land. After a few minutes of this the remote gave up and turned itself off, so I sheathed my sabre and sat back in the pilots seat, Mal looking at me with wide eyes.

"I'm impressed." He said. "No wonder you took out that bounty droid."

"Those things have tough armour, thats why it took me a little more effort." I said. Just then TT began to whir in a high pitched whistle. We jumped up and went to where he was plugged into the console and he started to chip.

"He says he's done it, he decrypted the data." I translated.

"What data?" Asked Mal, confused.

"The file I took on Sullust." Mal's glare was reproachful. "Hey, we are supposed to be a rebel cell, are we not?" He still wasn't impressed but he waved his hand signalling for me to go on. "Ok, it appears to be part of a design plan for a battle station. It's only a part of it though. Apparently the thing is huge, and this relates to the propulsion system. Maybe the empire is building something?"

"This could come in handy, I'll get it sent to Mon Mothma." Said Mal, then the hyperspace alarm whined so we ran over to the cockpit and pulled the ship back to impulse. "You're a great pilot too, aren't you?" Again, not a question.

"I use the force to see ahead, it helps me react before things happen. Ceaz has that aspect of sensitivity, it runs in all of his kind, to varying degrees."

"Ok, well let's hope we don't need it here, the manoeuvrability of this thing isn't great." I nodded in agreement. "Let's get to the showroom, Tec So Industries, sector nine nine."

I punched a few buttons and took us into the thick clouds above Corellia. This was going to be an interesting mission.

When we landed we disembarked the Piccalo and left TT to attend it. We were on a platform near several other ships of varying type and age, but ours didn't look out of place, and nor should it. Despite its recent activities, the Piccalo scrubbed up nicely, and it certainly wasn't an eye sore.

The two of us were dressed smartly in Gaboran business suits, which felt incredibly uncomfortable but I will admit that when I caught a glimpse of us reflected in the mirrored doors of the Ka'ah'ai Tun showroom building, I did think we looked very cool. All clean cut, which was something of a changeup for us. Mal was formally an officer, so he knew how to wear a suit, but I had been more of a ground combat soldier so formalwear always felt strange, despite the many jobs I had done that required it. We looked at each other and nodded.

Behind the doors was a reception desk, all whites and curves. A Kaminoan woman was behind the desk and she looked at us with curiosity. Mal was ready "Good day. My name is 'Oor Chandal. I don't have an appointment but I do need to speak with someone about a YT-19."

"Please sit." The Kaminoan gestured towards some white seats with her long, slender hand and touched a com button with a slow grace, speaking softly into the device. "A representative will be along in a moment." She said, and continued with her work. We looked at each other. Mal was calm, and I was trying to remain that way. Things had been strange lately, and I worried that we would fall at some point.

After a short wait, a Kaminoan male appeared. "Good day to you Master Chandal." He said bowing. "And..." He gestured to me.

"This is Boh, my bodyguard, I should very much like to see your showroom." Mal said authoritatively. The Kaminoan introduced himself as Fellu and asked us to follow him. He led with a long gait, graceful and slow, but covering ground quickly.

"This is the latest YT-2000" He said, standing by the entry ramp of a ship "I assure you that for only a hundred and fifty thousand credits, you will be getting the finest small freight ship in the galaxy." He lead the way on board, pointing out features. "The Corellian Engineering Corporation where these ships are built is only just down the road from our location, and this is the finest ship they produce."

"Ah as it may be." Said Mal, walking with his hands clasped behind his back. "I would really like to see the YT-19 range. I am told the 1930 model is unsurpassable by the newer ships."

Fellu didn't argue, he simply turned and led the way off the ship. "Then follow me outside. We have a second hand model right in our courtyard. It will cost only sixty six thousand credits to take away now." We had gone outside where several small freighters were sitting. He headed for the one with the cockpit between the mandibles and flared rear faring. "And you are quite correct sir, the prior model had a superior thrust generation, but it utilises a model of navicomp that the buyers claimed was difficult to use, even not fit for purpose." He waved a hand at the comp console. I took it in. Yes, it hadn't been switched out yet.

"Do you replace them?" Asked Mal.

"Only if it is what the client requires. We like to provide every option. No matter how... questionable." Mal chuckled and looked at me. I nodded.

"As much as I like this ship, I would like to see more of the 2000. Perhaps a better model is required." Mal said.

"We could retro fit a newer navicomp, if that is what you would like." Said Fallu without force. This being was a great salesman. No pressure.

"Perhaps." Said Mal, walking down the ramp. I took that as my cue and slipped away into the engine room of the 1930 model. As they left.

When the coast was clear I moved myself along to the cockpit and slipped under a seat. It was important to get this done quickly. Below the seat was a release mechanism which I slipped, and disengaged the Navicomp's core from the ship. Then I closed the hatch and stood by the console which was just outside the cockpit. It was clean but used, like the entire ship. It would be absolutely perfect. From my pocket I drew a hydro spanner and quickly removed the facia, careful to listen for anyone approaching. When the cover was removed I gripped the two handles and tugged out the computer itself, a small unit about ten inches square. I slipped it into a pouch in my shirt and replaced it with the clone I had brought, a simple empty shell. Quickly I replaced the cover facia and hid my driver before plopping myself into the pilots seat.

Voices and footsteps were approaching. It was Mal and Fellu. "There you are Boh. What happened to you?" Aksed Mal.

"Apologies sir, I always wanted to fly one of these. I simply got carried away."

Mal chuckled, Fellu simply watched on without emotion. "Come on, we have another appointment." Mal said and I followed him off the ship.

"If payment is an issue." Said Fellu. "Then something can always be arranged."

Again Mal chuckled. "No my friend, I feel today has simply been a long day, and I do not wish to make a decision based upon impulse. The models we have seen are outstanding, so I must make up my mind over night."

"Very well." Fellu opened the main door that lead back out beyond reception. "Thank you for coming today, and I hope to see you again soon."

"Count on it." Said Mal. We walked away together and again boarded the Piccalo before we spoke. "You get it?" He asked me. I nodded and pulled it from my pouch, putting it in one of the stash spaces on the ship for safety. The one under the floor plate in the kitchenette.

"Now let's get to the next part." I said, climbing into the pilot seat and easing us up and out. "You know I hate these suits?"

Mal just laughed. "How long until they find it?" He asked.

"Not long. They will fire it up before they close in a few hours, then the whole place will be on red alert."

"We need to be gone by then."

"Yes we do." I was setting down in a more derelict area next to what looked like a scrap yard. "Come on." I said. "Let's get changed."

We walked towards the gates of the scrap yard in ponchos and wrappings, much like the scrappers of Bracca wore. They were authentically filthy, mainly because they had been worn to carry out scrapper actions. "This is the side of Corellia they don't like you to see." Mal said to me as we walked across the dusty ground. "The buyers like to see shiny chrome and fast ships, but this is where the old trade in's get brought after they are stripped of the most valuable parts. The scrappers pay more than what the traders bought them for, then break them for parts."

"And you think there will be a replicator here?" I asked. "I haven't seen any cruiser parts here."

"Relax. If they don't have one, they will know where to get one." He said looking around as we entered the compound.

"I bet we end up on Scaramene." I muttered. Mal was no longer paying attention to me, he was heading for a custodian, an Abedenedo male, roughly eight feet tall and burly looking.

"Et choo da tida!" Said Mal laughing heartily.

"Gu tun da culasta!" Replied the Abednedo, also laughing. "Ku taa den disho?"

"Ahh den ku tasata! Mio ken fumo ti fumano Hunter." He gestured to me. "Hunter, this is Galsavo, an old friend.

"I gathered." I said, smiling, taking Galsavo's hand. "Great to meet you."

"Po san ku tay lidana!" Replied Galsavo.

"He says likewise," translated Mal. "Now come on." We followed Galsavo into a hut where he had a steaming kettle and several mugs. He quickly poured three drinks and began chatting with Mal. Despite catching the odd word I had no idea what they were saying, so I contented myself by just looking around. There were plenty of old tools hanging on the wall and a pile of random ship parts on a work bench in various states of repair. Some were covered in grime, while others were all cleaned and ready for sale. A crate was filled with various parts all ready to go back to the showroom service shops. Otherwise there wasn't much to see here. A few photos of family I assumed, and some trinkets.

Then, at last, Mal turned to me. "He say's he doesn't have what we need but his brother does."

"And where is his brother Mal?" I asked slowly.

"Scaramene." We both nodded.

"Shit." I said, taking a drink from my mug and almost gagging. This caused Galsavo to laugh heartily.

"What's so wrong with Scaramene?" Asked Mal.

"Lets just say I had some bad luck there." I said, standing with the other two.

"We need to move, the Kaminoans will raise the alert soon." Said Mal, wishing his friend goodbye and good health. I nodded and he returned the gesture. "Let's go."

"To fucking Scaramene." I said.

The journey from Corellia in the inner core, to Scaramene in the outer rim, had been a straightforward one. To take my mind off the location we were approaching I read the data file TT-19 had decrypted. What I found startled me. I went to Mal who was resting in the ready area.

"We have to get this to the heads of the rebellion now." I said. "TT got it wrong. It's not a propulsion system, it's a weapon."

Mal sat up and looked at me, worried. "Go on."

"TT thought it was a propulsion system because it uses such a high amount of power, but it's not, it's a super laser. Maybe the power to destroy an entire city." Mal was now wide awake.

"TT, open a comms lane to Yavin. Clearance Alpha six nine." He rushed to the mission table just as a hologram appeared that I recognised, the young Lieutenant with the purple hair.

"This is a secure feed, please state your access code." She said.

"P, M, niner, six, X, zero four. I need to speak with Commander Lenis." Said Mal in a panic.

"Thank you, please hold." She said, and left the hologram, just an outline of a desk now projecting in front of us.

Soon after, an older man with a white beard came into view. "Captain Malakan, this had better be good." He said, I sensed this wasn't the first time Mal had cried wolf.

"Commander Lenis, while on a mission on Sullust, my colleague found a data file that we have only just decrypted. Tell him Hunter."

I stepped forward. "Boas Hunter sir." I said, giving a salute. "The data file details a weapon, a super laser that will be mounted on a space station. The laser is powered by a mass of Kyber and by my estimation will have the power to level cities. Perhaps even whole countries."

Lenis was silent, he rubbed his beard a moment then spoke. "Send me the file please, but ensure you encrypt it, we cannot allow the Empire to know we have this information. Good work gentlemen. Lenis out." His hologram abruptly stopped projecting.

"How do we send it?" I asked.

"I have a transmitter back home, we need to complete this mission then send it. For now, store it in TT."

Just then, the hyperdrive alarm whined, so we jumped into the cockpit and started to prep for landing. "I wish I'd brought the whole crew and a second ship." Sighed Mal.

The first issue with Scaramene was that it was under imperial occupation. There was a star destroyer hanging in the sky above Scamene, the capitol city. This was not a good thing. I had heard that the nearby Jedha was in a similar situation, and guessed that all the planets in this sector must be rich in Kyber, because the empire was getting crazy for that stuff right now, and I assumed it was to prevent lightsabers being built at random.

We walked through the streets, hazy sunshine casting deep shadows. Market vendors were everywhere, and there was a thick vegetation in every direction. The buildings were mostly huts made of wood or bamboo, and there was a feeling of impending rain. Last time I was here I had been involved in an operation with five other bounty hunters, and I really hoped they were gone because it had not ended well. I learned that day that bounty hunters do not work well as a team.

"This is a bad idea." I said. "If anyone recognises me, this is over." I tugged my scarf over my nose.

"Don't worry, here." Mal pointed down a small alley. "Galsavo's brother is Gim, he runs a parts store down here." The alley was narrow and winding. I could hear stormtrooper voices where we had just come from.

We came to a small courtyard which had storefronts on every side and I noticed someone looking at me. I hoped they didn't recognise me. We went into a store and were surrounded by parts of all sizes, all clean but some looking better than others. Another Abednedo approached us, this one smaller than his brother. "You Mal?" He asked in basic. Mal nodded. "Galsavo said you were on the way. You need this?" He held up a box and I looked inside. It was a replicator. Slightly rusty and not overly sanitary looking, but that didn't matter.

"That's the one." I said nodding. "How much."

"Four." Said Gim, folding over the box lids. Mal took out a couple of credit slips and handed them over.

"Nice doing business." Said Mal. I pulled down my scarf to take a closer look at the contents of the box. That was a mistake because Gim recognised me.

"You!" He said, quickly drawing a blaster. "We are still recovering from you people!" I held up my hands.

"That was a different time. I'm not that person any more." I said, trying to back out of the store, making sure Mal was holding the box.

"You ruined the lives of hundreds of families, bounty hunter scum." He said, coming around the desk. I kept my hands in the air, looking to Mal. He nodded. I used my right hand to gesture and the blaster flew out of his hand, hitting the floor and letting off two bolts as it did. One crashed into the roof smashing a hole, the other hit Gim in the face. That was not ideal. Mal just looked at me.

"Really?" He yelled. "Was that necessary?"

"Well I didn't mean to!" I replied, leading the way out into the street. Predictably stormtroopers were beginning to arrive so we moved down a side street, Mal carrying the box, me with my hand on my blaster. My sabre was also pushing against my chest.

"You there!" Called a trooper from behind us, but we turned a corner and then passed down another side street. We were now in a bustling market place, and troopers were mixed in with the traders.

"Disappear!" Said Mal, heading into the crowd. "Meet me back at the ship."

I looked over my shoulder to see the trooper from the alleyway who spotted me and started after me. Another was coming up behind him. I moved through the crowd but getting to the ship was going to be difficult, so I moved off, trying to lead them away from Mal. He was carrying the box and it was important he should get back unimpeded.

Then there was a trooper standing directly in front of me, blaster levelled at my face. Before he could react and before I knew what I was doing I had drawn my sabre and driven it through his chest at close range. He started to fall but I caught him, noticing the gasps of the surrounding traders. I waved a hand and they all fell silent and looked away, crowding closer to me making something of a human wall. Quickly I took his helmet and armour and slipped into it then moved through the crowd. The chest plate had a hole in it but I covered that with my scarf, and I carried my sabre wrapped in my jacket.

I moved easily now, finding the crowd parting for me, and the troopers paid me no attention. Then I saw her. Tall and slender, all in black. Red visor catching the sun. This was not good. The inquisitor was maybe fifteen feet away. She turned in my direction and held out a hand. I heard a voice in my head.

'You.' She said. 'I've been tracking you' I cleared my mind and tried to remain silent. 'Who are you?' It was as if she was speaking to herself. Her voice was seductive though and I wanted to respond but I fought it. I slipped through the crowd and into a building. She was still in my head. 'I will have you. And when I do you shall join us.'

I took a detonator from the troopers belt and dropped it in a corner of the empty building. Then I took off at a run, the explosion in the back corner so it would cause the least damage and be furthest from the crowd.

Now there was chaos and she was no longer in my head as I ran. There was the Piccalo just up ahead, so I picked up the pace, barreling up the ramp ripping off the helmet. "Gotta go!" I yelled. Luckily Mal was waiting in the pilots seat so he took us up and we switched, me still in the armour, my things dropped in the ready room.

"What the hell man?" Asked Mal.

"Complications." I said, panting. "Inquisitor is here." I took the ship up and the sky went from blue to black.

"The same one?" He asked, head in hands.

"Yes. She is tracking me. We need to go. You ready?" He nodded, pounding buttons on the console. The star destroyer was turning in our direction and a couple of TIE's were coming out of the hangar. "Hold on!" I said, throwing the thrusters into full, barreling around the two fighters and towards the destroyer. Before we were in it's range I hit the lever and we streaked away into hyperspace.

"Nothing." Sighed Mal, "Is easy with you."


	13. Chapter 12

**A.N.**

**Ok so a little news, I have actually completed this story now. I shall continue with the weekly postings until it is done, but it is now a done deal! I was very excited to reach the end. It's also my new longest story (not by much). I really enjoyed writing this one. Anyway, on with the story**

Chapter 12 - Plan in action & Favour for Hondo

When we arrived back on Corneum we set TT-19 to work changing the ships call frequencies and masking her location and headed into the house with the final parts for the machine.

The other three were waiting for us in the main room, with a large crate that was unopened sitting in the middle of the room.

"Any more Imperial troubles?" Asked Vray.

"Yeah a few." Said Mal. "Some local ones too, but we got what we went for, so its all good." He nodded at the crate. "Whats in the box?"

"June fruits." Said Ceaz, "We think from Hondo. It only just came though so we figured we would wait for you."

"Might be better opening it outside." I said. "Never know what could be in a crate that size."

"He's right." Syd muttered. "We need to be careful." So we dragged the crate outside between us and took the replicator and nav comp to the garage and set them down. The five of us stood looking at the soon to be finished contraption.

"Is this really gonna work?" Asked Ceaz, squatting down to his haunches for a better look at the machine.

"Well we got all the parts, we all worked real hard, so it's all down to Hunter now." Said Mal. Syd sniggered and Vray huffed.

"Forgive me if I don't feel great about being in the hands of this guy." Said Vray. That was it. I had enough of their shit.

"Look!" I said, finger in Vray's face. "We all have our own stories and we all have our own shit to hide. You think I wanted these force powers? You think I wanted to not be given up to the Jedi? You think I wanted to survive order sixty six and the purge?" I was breathing heavy, the barn was now silent, all eyes on me as I dropped to sit on a tool box. "I didn't even know those inquisitors were still around, let alone tracking me. They probably want me to help them, and given my shitty past, I can see why. I was a bad guy, ok, not like I'm the only one in the room." I looked Syd square in the eyes. "But we are here to try and make amends. To try and use our skills and gifts for the good of the rebellion and fight the Empire, because no matter how good or bad every one of us has been over the years, no matter what lies within our own minds, bodies and souls, it can never match the evil of the Emperor and the pure hell he plans to reign down on the galaxy." I took a couple of heavy breaths. "Now who want's to put their shit to one side and help me finish this heap of junk?"

Silence. It was late afternoon, so the air was thick and hazy, the garage was warm and as ever it smelled oily and sweet. Their faces were draining of the shock and understanding was beginning to show. Syd, the one I could relate to most as her past was possibly darker than mine, was the first to speak.

"Let's get this crate open, then we can get to work?" She said softly. It had been a rollercoaster ride with these people emotionally, and I now realised why I had chosen to work alone most of the time ever since I had left the marines.

We stood around the crate, and Mal handed me a crowbar, keeping one for himself. We levered the top off and there, as per the stamp on the outside, were june fruits. Vray smiled and grabbed a hidden handle in the middle of them, lifting the top layer and revealing the Altarnium, dull grey, un refined, lumps of the rock like substance packed neatly into the space. He smiled. "I guess we got everything we need."

Mal picked up a data disc that was fixed to the inside of the crate lid, and right on cue TT-19 arrived with a happy whistle. Mal slid the disc into his reader and a hologram of Hondo appeared.

"My friends, I apologise for the delay in this data file reaching you, it seems the Imperials are monitoring far more transmissions lately. I said that I would need a little favour from your team to cover the, ahem, dangers of sending you these shipments. That favour is very simple. Tomorrow a cargo ship will pass by your sector, it is scheduled to refuel at the station on Altor and then continue into hyperspace. What I need from you is simple. There is a cargo crate on that ship and I want it. The registration of the crate and the details of the ship are on this disc. I will personally bring your next shipment, and expect the goods to be ready for me."

The hologram flickered out and we looked at each other. "Damn." Whispered Mal. "Another complication. Ok, Hunter, Ceaz, finish the machine, the rest of us are going to come up with a plan for this heist."

Everyone nodded and we all went to work, maybe a little closer than before.

"Hand me that wrench." I said to Ceaz, which he did, watching as I fixed together the final parts.

"Don't worry about us." He said, having been quiet for a long time I was surprised to hear his voice. "I think we all just worried you might bring the Imps down on our heads, when we have enjoyed a nice easy gig out here for so long.'

"I got that." I said softly. "It's hard, you know, trying to fit in. You guys are a family and I'm like an outsider. But I would do anything for you guys now. You're my family now."

He smiled and nodded. "Good. Because something tells me we're going to need that commitment soon."

I stood, dropping my wrench. "Wanna test it?" I said. He nodded excitedly, so I turned it on, a low hum started. It was evening now, so the barn was lit by orange electric lights, but the machine emitted a blue glow that was turning white, and it bathed us in brightness.

He fed in a lump of Alternium and pulled the lever. There was a hiss and a few crunching sounds, then a low hum that built into a high whine. The whole contraption vibrated and then there was a huge thud as the press slammed down. Silence.

Ceaz stepped forward and took the synthesised Trailum in his hand. He turned it over several times, and just as the other three appeared in the doorway, he looked up and smiled. "Perfect." He said, tossing the material to Mal, who turned it over in his hands several times.

"I wouldn't know the difference." He said. Then he dug his thumbnail into it and gouged a small nick from the bar. "Ah, it's that little bit softer than the real thing."

"Exactly." I said. "Which is why it will be so perfect. When used for sighting, that small amount of flexibility will cause it to warp slightly, and the blaster sights and gun targeting mechanisms will be slightly out of calibration."

"Making them terrible shots." Said Vray. He was smiling again. This was good news as he had been silent since my earlier rant. "Come on, we have a plan."

He lead the way back to the house, and we all gathered in the main room. Mal took up the lead now, showing us the plan. It seemed simple and fool proof, so we all took time to memorise it, since we would need to be ready to go first thing in the morning. Then we all hit the sack.

That night I only dreamed of my sabre and its purple glow. A red light was dancing around the periphery of my mind, but not enough to worry me. In fact it almost felt warm and comfortable. Sleep, in of itself, was peaceful that night.

The Heist - The Plan

We all get woken by Mal.

I didn't really know what was going on, I just felt a constant kick at my ass. I rolled over and opened my eyes to see Mal standing over me, combat ready.

"Rise and shine princess." He said, and left the room to go harass the next poor soul.

We have breakfast, as normal.

The main room smelled of kintabean as we all sipped our hot coffee and tried to force down our ronto wraps. My eyes were finally happy with remaining open and I was in my combat fatigues, all ready for action like the rest of them. There was no chatter, we all knew what was to be done.

Get on board the Piccalo and go to the coordinates ahead of time.

Ceaz was first on board, of course, checking over the settings and pushing the buttons to prime the thrusters. I joined him. "She looking ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, those upgrades TT did are nice, I just hope you didn't damage her on that last expedition." He grinned.

"Hey, I did what I could. It's never easy when a star destroyer tries to blindside you." I said, holding up my hands but grinning.

"Oh, and you may want to move that." He said pointing to the stormtrooper armour I had left at the back of the cockpit. Good call. I threw it into my quarters and got back to my post just as the others came on board, Vray still clutching his coffee mug.

"Let's go." Said Mal, all business. I noticed Syd was awfully quiet, focused. Ceaz took us up and eventually put us into hyperspace, a short jump to the location on Hondo's disc.

"Now we wait." Said Syd seriously.

Just before the freighter arrives, Syd and Hunter will space suit out into the open and Ceaz will take the Piccalo a safe distance away.

Syd and I looked at each other, standing by the hatch in our space suits. This was the risky part of the mission, but we were both trained in this work, so it naturally fell to us. "Nervous?" I said in a low voice. She nodded.

"Tell the others I admitted it," She said, "And I will break your legs." The fully serious look on her face told me it was no joke. Ok, fine. Baby steps.

Then Ceaz's voice cracked over our helmet comms. "Ok guys, when the light goes green, that's your go." We nodded to each other. "Oh, and you won't have comms with us while you're out there. In fact, better to keep all comms clear, it may alert them." Oh great, now you tell us. I looked at Syd again who was shaking her head. I gave her a reassuring nod, and we looked up at the red light.

Suddenly it turned green so I jumped into the hatch and was sucked out into the vacuum of space. I was weightless, floating freely. I tapped my thrusters to perform a system check. They were fine. I held up an ok sign to Syd who I watched do the same test. She looked to me and held up the same symbol. The Piccalo then jumped to hyperspace and was gone.

The feeling of drifting alone in space was enough to set anybody's anxiety on high alert. I had to breathe slowly and deeply to stay under control. Syd had her eyes closed and arms folded.

When the freighter arrives you have five minutes. Syd will go to the cockpit and drop a stun smoke grenade into the vents while hunter goes to the cargo bay doors and over rides them open.

Suddenly there it was, right in front of us. A small freighter, not a class I recognised. Sleek and fast looking. It had some markings on it that for some reason seemed familiar but I couldn't place. We fired our thrusters and headed for the ship, Syd going for the front, me for the rear. We knew the ship's sensors wouldn't pick us up as we were too small.

I clamped on to the hull and quickly found the external control panel for the door access. I took out my tools, and remembering my marine training, started to work on the panel. After a short time I had it ready to go. The wires were ready and I knew what I had to do. Right on cue Syd appeared at my side giving me a thumbs up. The crew were knocked out.

Ceaz brings the Piccalo in very close and we get onboard the freighter, Hunter gets to the controls and kills the engines.

The Piccalo appeared suddenly out of Hyperspace and started to move close to the target. I opened the cargo bay door, bringing the ramp all the way down and then went into the ship, walking past many crates and boxes stacked in the hold, making my way up to the cockpit. The pilot and navigator were passed out and the ship was gently moving at impulse, so I pressed a few buttons and hit the retro thrust to cause a full stop, then ran back down to the hold.

Mal and Vray get over to the target and locate the package, moving it from there to the Piccalo. Syd stands guard.

I arrived back in the hold in time to see both men moving a casket sized crate down the ramp onto the Piccalo's ramp. They slowly bumped it along until they were inside our ship and out of danger. Syd raised a hand to me.

When Syd gives the signal, Hunter puts the ship back on course and vents the air ducts. This will be the most dangerous time, as venting the ducts could cause the crew to waken. He and Syd get out of there, closing the door behind them.

I ran back to the cockpit and hit the controls, taking a moment to wipe the past few moments from the security feed. When I felt the inertia kick in I knew we were moving forward again so I set the vent purge in motion and made a run for the hangar. Syd was already clamped outside, so I jumped, sailing out into space, grabbing the edge of the doorway and swinging myself back to the spot where the control panel was. I checked she was clear and shorted the close command, As soon as the ramp started to close up I hit my thrusters pushing away from the ship. Syd was only just behind me so I reached out and took her hand, grasping the rail on the side of the Piccalo.

They get on board and we get the hell out of there leaving the crew none the wiser.

We climbed back into the hatch and I hit the close button while Syd spoke into her helmet comms "All clear Ceaz, get us out of here." The Pull into hyperspace knocked us on our asses, and we just looked at each other and laughed.

Job done.

When the Piccalo landed back at the farm on Corasco there was a ship waiting for us. It clearly belonged to pirates.

"If they wrecked anything!" Ceaz said angrily. He took us down and we went down the ramp to meet our guests, Hondo and two pirates. They were standing by a couple of crates, blasters at the ready, Hondo leaning casually against one crate flipping a coin.

"Ah gentlemen, did you get what I asked for?" He asked.

"Yeah we did." Said Mal. "Are those the next two shipments?" Hondo nodded so Mal motioned to Vray and I. We went back up into the ship and started moving the package.

"What's inside?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Damned if I know, but it could be a person." Said Vray, pointing out the description plate. I ignored this and took a look in the viewing window. What I saw made me stop in my tracks.

"You know who this is?" I asked.

"No idea, and I don't want to know." He replied. I once again helped moving the box but I couldn't shake the image of the blue face and the wide brimmed hat. We got outside and pushed the crate to Hondo's ship.

"Excellent." He said as he leaned over to peer through the window. "Ah my old friend, it's been a long time. Someone is looking forward to meeting you."

"Who is it?" Asked Mal, now standing close to Hondo.

"Nobody you need to worry about, I think, now, let us talk payment for these." He gestured at the two crates. "As agreed?"

"Hondo," said Mal, "I hate you." Both men laughed as Mal pressed the credits into Hondo's hand. His flankers turned and entered the ship with the casket as we moved the crates a safe distance away. The ship started to rise with Hondo still standing on the ramp.

"It's been an absolute pleasure!" He yelled. "Hunter, stay out of trouble!" His laugh was the last thing we heard of him as the ramp closed and the ship peeled away.

"I hate working with damn pirates." Complained Ceaz.

For the next few days nothing much happened other than us manufacturing as much fake Trailum as we could. The data Psy had given us on the shipment we would hijack told us the quantity, and it was a huge amount. Enough to supply the Imperial weapons production for maybe more than a year, so we had a lot of product to make.

The machine was running none stop, with me continually checking it for fatigue and faults. We pulled out the fake material and staked it exactly as the data disc showed us the outgoing material would be stacked. The night before the exchange Mal stood by my side watching another operational run through.

"This is going to work, isn't it?" He said. I nodded. "You know this could be huge for the rebellion." I nodded again, so he passed me a bottle from which I took a deep drink. It hit the spot for sure.

"We just need to get it into the system." I said. "Maybe blow the mines when we can."

"Blow the mines?" Asked Mal, confusion on his face.

"The real stuff is highly unstabel when it's just ore." I said, taking a look at a readout. "If there is an explosion close to a vein, the whole mine will go down, and that could set their program back by years."

"I like your thinking." Said Mal. "But it should be a last resort. The Empire uses this place for its ore but also likes to vacation here, let's not give them a reason to do anything rash."

"Agreed." I nodded. "Last resort."

We took the last few bars of product and placed them with the others. "Can we make more?" Asked Mal.

"We can make as much as you want, but we need more Alternium."

"That means more debt with Hondo." He shook his head. I had to admit, that really was not something that appealed to me either. Sooner or later he was going to ask me to do something I didn't want to do.

"Do you know who was in that casket?" I asked. He shook his head. "Cad Bane." Mal's eyes went wide.

"The Cad Bane?" He asked, jaw dropped. I nodded. "I thought he was dead."

"Hey, they thought I was dead." I said. "That guy is slippery and resourceful, and we do not want to have to deal with him at any point."

"Perhaps Hondo will keep him frozen, use him as leverage or something?"

I shook my head. "Not something I want to find out. Be alert. Anything could happen."

"Agreed." Said Mal. "Are we ready for tomorrow night?"

"Yep, the rig is identical to the one on the disc. We need to cover it and take it down to the docks, then the switch out just before the shuttle picks it up."

"Excellent. Great work man, we couldn't have done this without you." He said, clamping a hand on my shoulder. "Now let's go have some drinks.

The exchange couldn't have gone any better. We waited in the docks and when the real shipment arrived we stood watch until all but one lonely trooper remained with a clipboard.

I approached him and he removed his helmet, smiling. "What kept you?" He said.

"Psy, this is incredible." I said. "Give us our time?"

"You got it" Said trooper PY-6837, slipping his helmet back on. "Make it snappy, those guards won't be gone long."

I gestured to the others and we loaded the real stuff out and into a different docking bay, while moving the fake material in place of the real. When it was done and the difference could not be seen I poked my head out of the bay to find PSY with his helmet off taking a smoke break. I nodded and he nodded, stomping out the smoke and putting the helmet back on. We disappeared from the bay and headed for the new location of the real stuff, an adjacent bay where a newly acquired rebel cargo runner was waiting. The pilot gave us a salute and hauled it into the air, zipping up and away, out of sight in the night air.

That night we got very drunk, celebrating. The Imperial shuttle had taken away the fake stuff and it seemed nobody was any the wiser. Now we could look to the future, but first, sweet drunken oblivion.


	14. Chapter 13

**A.N. So, another week of not getting much done. Suddenly have a little more free time but thats probably going to be taken up with writing music rather than words. Can't wait for you the reader to get to the end, as I'm happy with how it all turns out. But for now you'll have to wait and see. Anyway, enough of me, lets get on with the show**

Chapter 13 - When things go Awry.

Our operation had been running for a little while without any major hiccups. Because of this we had all become a lot more friendly with each other, and by all I really mean them and me.

Syd had gone away on a couple of missions which she never wanted to discuss with us, and that left the rest of us to just concentrate on producing face material and making sure it went off in place of the real stuff.

To be honest, it had been a very enjoyable time as stress was low and spirits were high. Lt Yer hadn't bothered to come up and inspect us for a while, and the imperials had been just getting on quietly with their works. Vray and Ceaz were loving life, mainly kicking back and relaxing, having plenty to drink.

Since the escape from Scaramene, Mal was a little cautious about using the Piccalo as he was afraid her tracking signature may give her away to any passing Imperial cruisers, so we stayed on world, since the operation no longer called for any real excursions. Syd wasn't affected by that because she always hopped a ride on a transport to reduce her chances of detection.

I had been working on the file we had found on Sullust for a few days, trying to further decrypt it. Despite being able to read the specifications it felt as though something was missing, and I couldn't quite scratch the surface and find the hidden meaning. Mal and I had discussed at great length the prospect of sending the data to the rebellion HQ, because we had never gotten to it originally and I felt that if it was incomplete it was probably going to do more harm than good.

So there I was, sat at a computer with TT-19 trying to find a way past the wall of encryption that felt paper thin. It felt as though the data may even be hiding in plain sight.

It was evening, the yellow sun was long set and the blue sun was approaching the horizon so the air outside was warm and humid, almost sweet to the taste. I had grown to love the sunrise and sunset on Corasco. The weather here was generally perfect. I was in an alcove off the main room, TT occasionally beeping softly as he ran the data back and forth. Ceaz was listening to music on an old wireless and Vray was reading a data pad, probably the latest news from Coruscant. Mal and Syd had vanished a while ago, something that was becoming a little more frequent. She had been back from a mission for a few days, and I gathered he was taking her to the beaches, trying to soften that hard edge of hers. Was it working? If it was then she was doing a great job of hiding it. She had warmed a little to me, yes, especially when I had let them play with my lightsaber one day, they all enjoyed that very much, slicing rocks and trees. Luckily nobody was harmed.

TT babbled to me softly bringing me back to the task at hand. I looked at the screen. "Yeah, I see it, but I still don't understand how it can be. When I thought it was a giant thrust drive it made more sense, but if this is some kind of weapon it would need to be housed properly." He beeped a few more times and went back to his scan. "Me too buddy." I said softly.

Ceaz had wandered over. "What ya working on there bro?" He asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and peering at the coding on the screen.

"Still trying to wrap my head around this Genesis file I found on Sullust." I leaned back cracking my fingers. "It seems like it's nothing, because it doesn't make sense, but the feeling I had when I saw it, there was no way I could leave it unturned."

"What doesn't make sense?" He asked.

"Well the file details either a propulsion thruster or a weapon. But it's massive. I mean in terms of scale if it was free floating in space it would probably take six star destroyers to move it, and they would be dwarfed by this thing, I mean absolutely dwarfed. It's huge. The scale must be completely off." I sighed in exasperation.

"Maybe you're just thinking about it too small." Said Ceaz, pondering. "Try and think about the bigger picture I guess. Like what could it be used for."

A lightbulb went on inside my head. "Ceaz you are one beautiful bastard." I said, turning back to the monitor. "TT try scaling up and rotating, then flip the whole thing." TT whirred and a hologram projection appeared above him. It was a dish with an emitter in the centre, and four smaller emitters located on the perimeter of the dish. This looked bad.

"Ceaz, Vray." I said, my voice serious and low. They rushed over, looking at the projection in awe. "Get Mal." I said.

"Is that what it looks like?" Asked Vray.

"A giant turbo laser? Yeah thats exactly what it is." I said, a tremble in my voice.

"I'll go." Said Ceaz, heading outside. We heard the speeder fire up and he was gone.

"So what can this thing do?" Asked Vray.

"Honestly, I don't know, but that thing is huge. TT can you put a star destroyer beside it for scale please?" I asked, turning to the droid who clicked and purred, and then a star destroyer outline appeared, made to look like a fly beside the giant dish.

"A weapon like that." Said Vray slowly. "It could destroy cities. Even countries." I nodded.

"If this is in development then it's bad. This data needs to go to the higher ups." I said, still trembling a little.

"C'mon Mal." Said Vray, now doing a little jig by the window.

We sat and waited on the edge of our seats for them to return for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only an hour or so. Only Mal had the transmission codes to get in touch with the rebel base, so we just had to wait for him.

"This thing will take years to produce though, right?" Said Vray nervously. I nodded.

"Yeah, a thing like this will take a long time to build, and how the Empire plans to keep it a secret from the galaxy I have no idea. Surely before it gets to build stage the senate will have it decommissioned." I wasn't sure of my words though. Lately the senate had become nothing more than a group of puppets.

"They're here." Said Vray, jumping to his feet. We both dashed outside into the early night where it was fresh and pleasant.

"What the hell couldn't wait till morning?" Mal asked, looking slightly pissed off. "He couldn't put a coherent sentence together. Someone mind telling me why I can't enjoy my evening." Syd also looked rather annoyed. Ah well, just go with it, I thought.

"Remember the Genesis file from Sullust?" I asked.

"The one about the thrusters I was going to send to HQ?" He asked testily.

"Yes. Well I kept at it, and it isn't thrusters, it's a turbo laser. Show him TT." Again the projection sparked into life. "That is a star destroyer." I pointed at the small blob.

Now Mal was silent. Syd was next to speak. "That could destroy thousands in one shot." She said in awe.

"Wanna get it to the higher ups?" Asked Vray sarcastically.

"Uh, yeah I better." Replied Mal. "Mon Mothma needs to see this. C'mon TT. You guys wait out here." He walked into the house trailed by the droid as the rest of us waited out in the night. Gentle hisses were coming from the garage and in the distance I could see a small plume of smoke rising from one of our exhaust ports. Some time later Mal returned.

"I told her about it, she said to send the file. It's too big to transmit so TT is putting it on a disc now and we can despatch it in the morning. Anyone want to go into town and do it?" Mal was serious and looked tired and, dare I say it, old.

I held up a hand. "I'll go." I said. "I have some business to attend in town anyway, I can get to the depot first thing in the morning."

"Great." Said Ceaz. "I hope this helps."

"So do I bud." Said Mal softly, putting an arm around Ceaz's shoulders. "So do I."

_I look around, never surprised to find myself somewhere new. This time it's a small shack, maybe a tent on a dusty world somewhere. The sunshine outside makes the inside hot and dry like an oven, but that isn't important. I sit in the centre cross legged. The darkness inside the tent closes around me until there is nothing but the light from the slit of the closed doorway. A bright orange yellow light that is slowly changing to a purple colour. I feel myself rise from the ground and now there is nothing, only the purple line of light in front of me._

_Then a line of red appears, horizontal to the purple. The red line is shorter. It glows deeply with meaning and menace. The line begins to approach and I see it is set into the faceplate of a mask, a sleek, curved mask with a domed top and plain curved front to cover the mouth. The rear edges slightly overlap the mouth area just to set it in a little towards the face, and give it some definition. I feel a sense of dread building within._

"_Don't fight it." Says the voice, female and distorted. It isn't a pleasant voice, although maybe it once was._

"_But it isn't me." I say. "I don't want this path."_

"_Give in."_

"_No." I begin to shudder and I see she does too. I spring to my feet and summon the purple lightsaber to me, while she ignites hers, a red one with a curved hilt, long and dangerous looking. The blade is simple enough though, deadly and red. She approached._

"_Last chance." She says, rearing back. I put my blade vertically in front of my face and close my eyes. "So be it."_

_She lunges and I parry, moving swiftly to her side. With one upwards stroke I remove her head and the body thuds to the floor. The head rolls out of the helmet and I see purple skin. Ceaz is looking at me sadly. Then it fades to Vray who's expression is accusatory. Syd is next, frosty and angry. And finally Mal, disappointed. Then it all melts away and I am in full darkness, but her voice still hangs around me like fog._

"_The dark side." She begins, "it flows through you in your actions." I shake my head. I will not betray my friends. "You will." She says._

_Suddenly it is day and I am hovering above the diner in downtown Corneum. I see myself being led towards that same figure by a group of storm troopers._

_She looks up, and one last time I hear that haunted, distorted voice. "Be with us."_

It was just a normal morning, nothing special about the spectacular sunrise. I sat and watched it perched on the bench outside the garage. When I awoke, dressed and walked outside it was dark, distant stars twinkling in the night sky, the bulk of the Piccalo was visible, but difficult to see any definition. In the distance, beyond the glowing lights of Corneum, I could make out the sparkling ocean, flat and smooth.

The view from up here was perfect, straight down the hillsides and into the distance, and since we were a little higher up the air tasted even sweeter.

Then it began, just as it did every day. Before the yellow sun could even peek above the horizon the sky was changing from dark blue to a washed out orange. By the time the sun was visible the orange had faded to a deep colour and a red sparkle was beginning in the upper atmosphere which was reflected in the glimmer of the ocean causing a fire like shimmer all along the line of the horizon.

The yellow sun then emerged from that line of fire, rising until fully visible, and there for a moment, the thing the tourists came to Corasco to see, the burst of light caused by the blue sun being far enough around the planet to throw its own light into the sky, and the yellow sun now being risen enough to reach a higher level of brightness. The line of fire faded and a plume of steam was visible on the ocean, an illusion of course as this was mere atmospheric shimmer but it looked for all the galaxy to be steam.

Then the yellow sun caught the beam of blue and a burst of green light exploded in the sky lasting only a few long breaths before it was gone and the sky returned to it's normal appearance of light blue.

I could have watched that sunrise a thousand more times, but I knew what I had to do, so I hopped down from the fence and made my way to town on foot, knowing that I was in store for quite a day.

And so that brings me back to the beginning. I had taken the disc to the mail depot and asked them to put a priority rush on it for me. The Corascan lady behind the desk had smiled and nodded, and when I slipped her a few extra credits she blushed and thanked me.

I had gone from the straight to cafe Zax where the waitress, a tall Corascan girl named Mialle, had taken my order and returned shortly after with the drink. I gave her a piece of paper and said "please, when I leave here, call Mal and let him know." She smiled and thanked me for the tip.

Then they came and the next thing I knew I was riding in that dark, dusty transport towards the docks surrounded by eight of Corasco's finest. The Inquisitor was not with us, she had obviously deemed herself too good to ride in back with the criminal, as had Lt Yer whom I had spotted as I was bundled into the back of the transport.

"How are the kids?" I asked Psy as we rattled along.

"Don't" He replied, "She never game me a choice."

"I know." I said softly. "You don't need to worry, this would have happened whatever. Just look after your family."

"Thank you." He said sincerely. His helmet distortion making the voice sound tinny.

Then we shuddered to a halt and the door opened, blinding me momentarily as the bright sunshine burst into the dark transport. We all stood and when we were outside I saw we were in a docking bay beside an imperial shuttle. Yer was there, as was the inquisitor. Yer wasn't about to let a chance like this slip by.

"Well well. It turns out you are rebel scum after all." He sneered, walking back and forth in front of me as I was flanked by four troopers on either side. "Thinking you can damage my operation by stealing shipments of Tralium?" Now he stood in front of me, nose to nose. I didn't say a word, simply looked him in the eye. I had dealt with much worse in the marines.

He turned away for a second and then turned back to face me, slapping me square across the jaw. I had to fight back the natural response. "Take this scum to..."

He never got to finish as he was suddenly grasping his throat. The inquisitor stepped forwards, one hand held out in front of her. She dropped that hand and Yer fell to his knees. "Never forget your place, Lieutenant." She rasped, her voice distorted and harsh.

Her dark robes flowed to the ground and she seemed to glide across the dusty docking bay floor, stopping a few feet in front of me. I could clearly see her helmet now, exactly as it had been in my dream. The red visor almost glowed and the sun caught the metal where it wasn't covered by her hood. She looked at me for a little while in silence and I could sense the discomfort of the troopers. Locals who were not used to dealing with higher up levels of authority.

Then she stepped back and spoke as she turned. "Put him on the shuttle." And she was gone, up the ramp and onto the small craft.

I was accompanied by two troopers onto the shuttle where another four were waiting in the hold. We all sat in silence, Psy now gone, left to return to his regular duties. They all pointed blasters at me, and one said "Just try something."

"Nah, I'm good." I said, keeping my calm. I had to get through this. Although I wasn't sure how.

The trip was short, and soon we landed in the hangar of a star destroyer. I was taken from the shuttle to another detachment of troops, maybe twelve this time, and an officer, a stern faced man who barked his orders at the troops and ignored me. I didn't see the inquisitor.

They took me to the detention block and threw me in a cell, this of course after stripping me of anything that might be helpful. Which hadn't been much because I had not only left my sabre at home I had left my blaster too. They took a few credits and that was about it.

Then it began. I had been sitting meditating for a while when the door slid open and there she was. "Bring him." She told the troopers by her side. They forcefully escorted us to a room and made sure I was secured to an interrogation chair. Then she waved a hand and they left. She pulled back the hood and removed the robe. Her helmet was as I had seen it, smooth and shiny, deadly visor, featureless mouth. She wore black and her lithe body was easy to see, coiled and ready to attack at any moment like an asp.

The next time she spoke it wasn't distorted, it was inside my head.

"I know who you are." I remained silent. She was in my head but that didn't mean I had to play her game. "Mercenary. Bounty hunter. Assassin. Sniper. Thief. Am I wrong with any of these." Nothing. "Yes, I know you. The dark side is your ally. You have used it many times for your own benefit haven't you?" She walked in front of me and now she spoke again with her mouth, the distorted version of her voice.

"Not very noble, is it?" She chuckled. "And now you have aspirations of what? Becoming a Jedi?" Her chuckle turned into a sharp laugh. A cutting sound that made me flinch. "You think the Jedi would accept you? A cold blooded killer? Everything they stand against?"

"Maybe that's why they lost the war." I snarled.

"Ah so you do speak. Very good. I was wondering how long it would take for you to be civil."

"What do you know about civility?" I asked.

"Oh I see, you place yourself on a moral pedestal now you have joined the rebellion?" Her voice had a hint of humour in it. I tried to picture her face behind the mask. "Running around a resort town stealing materials? You think this redeems you? Makes you a hero?"

"And what makes you any better?" I asked calmly.

"I accept the dark side as my fate. I accepted it a long time ago and now I have it as my ally."

"And your master." I said. "I serve nobody."

"Yet." She chuckled again, a horrible sound that set me on edge. "I think you need to experience a little pain." She opened the door and beckoned the guards inside. "Stay with him, he may become a little more, vocal." Again that nasty little laugh. She gestured to a lever on the wall and suddenly pain exploded in every part of my body. White hot pain, streaking and coursing, popping and cracking. I don't know how long it took, but I soon passed out.


	15. Chapter 14

**Will keep this one short. Please enjoy. This is where I really started to enjoy where the story took me so I hope the same goes for you, the reader.**

Chapter 14 - Getting to know one another

I opened my eyes slowly, the pain still present in most of my body but now as more of a dull ache. When the light began to flood into my brain it felt like a sunrise located entirely in the front of my head. I really, really needed a drink.

Of course she was there. Standing in front of me, no robe, helmet glinting in the light. No emotion coming from that red visor, just a passionless glow. "Ah, you're awake? I was beginning to think we had gone too far." She said, that electronic voice grating on my last nerve.

"Could you get me a mug of kintabean and a couple of zucca?" I asked, my voice straining. It actually hurt.

"Oh there will be plenty of that when you join us." She said, slightly pissed off. "Which you inevitably will."

"Where the hell even are we?" I asked, noticing that I had not been moved and was still in what I now thought of as the pain chair. "Feels like sub-light. How come we aren't in hyperspace?"

"Well my dear, I'm in no rush to get home, and I want to take my time in getting to know you, now that I have you." She was now leaning casually against the wall. The door was closed and the guards were nowhere to be seen.

"And where is home?" I croaked.

"Oh you don't need to worry about that, and for your next question, you were out for maybe a half hour." Now she took a step towards me, that red line focused on my face. "Let's take a look inside shall we?" She put her hands on my face and suddenly all went black.

I'm going to stay in the present tense because all that followed felt as though it was happening right there and then. In the darkness was a voice. "Who are you working with?" She asked. It was her, that much I could tell, but without the distortion so her true voice could be heard. It was almost haunted, but nevertheless she continued. "Tell me about your friends."

I remained silent in my own mind. I wasn't about to give anyone away just because of a little mind trick. "You need to tell me about your cell." She said.

"No I don't because there isn't one." My own voice boomed in the darkness, resonating as if in a large hall. "I work alone, you should know this."

"Ah yes, the great Boas Hunter. I find it difficult to believe that you alone were able to move our shipments of Tralium off world on your own, and with no help from a rebel cell. And don't try to tell me that you aren't working for the rebellion." She sneered

"If you didn't have proof, then I wouldn't be here." I was calm and smooth.

"That is not why you are here." She was getting angry, raising her voice. "You are here because you are a survivor of the purge, and as such an enemy of the Emperor."

"How can I be an enemy of the emperor when I don't even know how to use the force?" I asked. Keep her agitated.

"I felt you use the force, those times I sensed you. I didn't know who you were then, but when I spoke to you on Scaramene I found enough to get a name, and that was all I needed." She raised her voice even more for the last part until it was a triumphant roar.

"I'll never tell you anything." I said, remaining even.

"You won't have to." She was calm again. And now silence and darkness. Darkness that was close and oppressive. It was difficult to breathe even though I knew it wasn't real and was simply in my head.

I saw my mother. I wasn't really in any form, and the inquisitor was right beside me, watching intently. My mother looked young, younger than I ever remembered her. She was holding a baby and I very quickly realised that baby was me. Two figures approached her, one tall and lean, dark skinned with a bald head and serious expression, the other very small and green with large ears.

"If you allow him to come with us, we will teach him the ways of the jedi." Spoke the tall man. "He will become a protector of the republic."

"Yes, powerful he could be, with the correct training." The small one said. My mother shook her head in protest.

"No. And that is my final answer. I will not have him torn from his family to join a group of fanatics." The held up their hands to protest but she continued. "And as for being a protector, what if he is killed in this duty? A duty he never chose for himself."

"Ooh I like her." The inquisitor spoke "She has spunk. Nobody turns down the jedi."

"She was a great mother." I whispered. "And by the way, if you're taking a guided tour of my head, tell me your name, and not the stupid nine hundredth sister type shit, I mean your real name."

There was a moments silence as the two men tried to convince my mother to hand me over, only for her to step further away. Then she spoke. "Connie." She said softly, sounding almost human. But then the softness was gone. "But let's not dwell on that, on with the tour."

She snapped a black gloved finger and suddenly we were in a classroom on Renifum. The teacher had just stepped out. I knew what was coming. Four other kids surrounded me and demanded my lunch money so I fought back. But I fought using both my fists and the force. At the end of the scuffle the largest was still hanging a few inches above the floor, invisible hands around his neck. His lifeless body crumpled to the ground and there was a wailing of other students.

"That was the day I learned how dangerous my power could be." I said, watching the commotion in the classroom. Child me was sitting in a chair at the back of the room trying not to be noticed.

"You always had a dark streak, didn't you." She goaded. I wasn't going to let her pull me into being angry though.

Then we were in an army recruiting office, still on Renifum. I was sixteen, talking to a man with a moustache.

"The war is still raging, and I want to protect my home world." I said.

"So young and idealistic!" She was trying to coax me along.

"Son, if you join us we will train you to become a better man and a great soldier. With your education I see a bright future for you." Young me smiled and signed the papers.

"Your mother wasn't happy, was she?" Said Connie, again patronising.

"She refused to give me to the Jedi so I wouldn't have to go fight in a stupid war, and now I was choosing war anyway." I said. Slowly wondering why I was so compliant.

The next thing was saw was me in training camp. News was coming through about order sixty six. Men were openly weeping.

"Our war had nothing to do with the republic and separatists." I said sadly. "But we respected the Jedi and everything they stood for. This slaughter was so senseless, but it also taught me more importance for keeping myself secret."

"You didn't though, did you?" She asked, the scenery changing to a battlefield. I was working inside a tank while my unit fiercely fought off the enemy.

"I tried, but sometimes I just couldn't help myself." Marine me stuck his head out of the tank to see three of my unit about to be hit by a crashing bomber. He held out a hand and changed it's direction. When they looked around he was hiding again. "Mother taught me that someone would always want to exploit my gifts, and if I kept them secret I could exploit them for myself."

"Oh and you did just that, didn't you?" She said, mocking.

Now we were in a seedy part of a city. Some back alley full of garbage. I was older now, no longer a marine. I wore my armour that I had collected, various different styles. I remembered the man I was chasing, a bounty. He did not want to stand in front of the Hutts, but I wanted that bounty. He turned and fired two blaster bolts at me. I used the force with a swipe of my hand to deflect them and lifted him from the ground, pulling the blaster to me. I caught it and immediately shot my prey in the leg then dropped him to the ground grasping at his throat.

"I'm sure we could find lots of examples like this, couldn't we?" She said, enjoying the show.

"I have no place to be, take your pick." I said.

"Very well, this one interests me a lot." And then we were in a small room in a tower building. I was there, preparing my rile. Silencer screwed on, stock and chin rest fixed. Sight attached. Battery charged. We looked out the window and saw a mag lev train track. I had expected her to bring us here, but it still hit very hard remembering the day.

He took the rifle and set up out the window, incendiary bolt loaded. Then the train came into view and he took the shot, lighting up the entire cabin.

"How long before this had you been having second thoughts?" She asked, no mocking in her voice this time.

"I think it was the racer who made me start to think things over. He was a kid with a career and then he was dead." I tried to keep the sadness and regret from my voice but it was not possible.

"And so you decided to self isolate?" She asked, mocking tone returning. Thismade me a little more angry.

"It was the right thing to do. I was dangerous and I knew it."

"You could have had a high role in the Imperial navy." Her voice was light and playful. Toying with me.

"I did the right thing." I said.

Quickly a passage of time blurred by. I saw myself take the kiss to the storage space. I put my belongings in a locker and took a small shuttle to Eghanan, the forest world in the outer rim not far from Endor. There I meditated, a lot.

"You kind of became a bore. I liked you better when you were a cold blooded killer. This guy just sits and chills." She chuckled.

"I was cleansing my soul." I said.

"You were boring the shit out of me." She said. Then stopped. "Oh, what's this?"

A small mail pod landed outside the shack in which I had been living. "I think I would call this, hope." I said.

Other me picked up the pod and inspected it's contents. A keycard to a locker in a bank that I had recognised would be on Naboo. "Oh, field trip?" She said excitedly.

The scenery changed again to the lush greenery of Naboo. I was in a bank in Theed where I had shown the keycard and been taken to the vault. Here I used the card to open that vault. We watched on over my shoulder as I turned the holocron over in one hand, then inspected the blue Kyber crystal. They were in a small leather bag with the name Black Spire Outpost written on it.

The next scenery change was fast, we were in the dusty environment of Batuu. "This is fun." She said, her voice playful. But also tinted with venom.

I was wandering into a small shop, and seconds later I emerged with a lightsaber hilt. I knew, of course, that it had been more than mere seconds, but my brain was taking things along at pace. The hilt was worn looking, made from wood and steel, but when I flipped the switch a blue blade burst forth. A few waves in front of me were enough. I sheathed it and we were on the move again.

"Where next?" She asked.

"Ilium." I said. "I had been told I needed to find a crystal of my own."

"Who told you that." She asked, laughing.

"Not important. I will say that I felt a bond with it when I got the new crystal." She just laughed.

The ice caves of Ilium surrounded us, and I was standing in front of a small crevice in the ice. I saw myself reach in and pull out a purple crystal with my mind. And that was the crystal that I bonded with.

Then we saw a few flashes of me back on Eghanan training. I was doing stuff that came to me, and using the sabre. "Who trained you?" She asked, slightly frustrated.

"I trained myself mostly, but I was also visited often by a force ghost."

"A force ghost?" She scoffed. "They are a myth."

"What is that then?" I pointed a misty finger at myself. I was standing with a man who was imparting wisdom on me. He was tall with very long hair tied back only at the top, and a beard.

"The ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn trained you?" She asked, incredulous.

"Pretty much." I replied, seeing myself move fluidly with the sabre.

Then there was another man standing before me outside my home. He was telling me I should become involved with the rebellion. That I would be a major asset to the cause. That Master Yoda himself had told him to find me. Then the scene stopped dead as if someone had hit a pause button.

"No." I said. "No more."

"What do you mean, no more?" She asked, outraged. The surroundings turned to black once more.

"I mean you have seen enough, and now it is your turn!" And with that, I pushed with my mind using every ounce of the force I could muster, and I caught her completely off guard.

Alderran, before the purge. A man and woman hand a swaddled baby over to a Jedi in robes. He nods purposefully and walks away, the parents in tears of joy and sadness. The father is a thin man, unimposing, the woman, graceful tall with a haunted face and long blonde hair. They fade away.

"Don't you dare!" She screams, trying to force me out of her head.

"Fair is fair. I showed you mine." I said, now it was my turn to mock. She was not prepared for this.

A small girl, Connie, cries on the floor of the padawan training academy. She simply cannot master her sabre. "You will pay for this!" She screamed, but I was holding her. She had been unaware that all the time she was in control of my memories I had been learning, working out how it was done. And now I was over powering her because my true force ability was in my mental links with others.

"Let's see shall we?" I asked. Suddenly we were on a cruiser during the wars. She was with her master and she was only a young teen. Her master was a Togruta female, tall and elegant. She followed her master down a corridor to the fighters, and as they were climbing into one, the clones suddenly stopped. Then they turned their weapons on master and padawan. The master was fast, but focused only on protecting the child.

"No! Cried Connie. No I don't want to see this!" But it continued. The master was stricken down, clones firing shots into her lifeless form, but the child somehow managed to slip away.

Then we were on Tatooine. It was hot and dusty and the child was now in her late teens. She was stealing to eat and a bounty hunter stood in front of her. Blue skin, red eyes and a wide brimmed hat. "Bane." I whispered.

"He trained me better than the Jedi ever could." She said, shaken. He was like a father to me until...

Now we were in a dive canteena somewhere I could not place. The girl, now a woman with long blonde hair in a platted pony tail and a haunted expression, was sitting in a booth with Bane when in came a huge, hulking figure. He stood by their table and did not sit. They did not stand.

"Is this the one?" The giant's voice was demonic. His breathing whirred and hissed. Even in this memory I could feel the hate pouring from him.

"Vader." She whispered, her voice quivering in fear.

"This is her." Said Bane. "Now give me my money Vader so I can get out of here." Vader tossed over a credit slip and took the woman by the arm. She began to struggle so he held out a hand and she fell unconscious. He put her over his shoulder and walked away.

From that point I could not find a landing spot in her mind. It was all pain and anguish. I headed for a spot that looked like her training as an inquisitor but suddenly it was shattered with a shriek of "NO!" From her.

We were back in the real world. She was on her knees in front of me. She pulled off her helmet and slowly rose to her feet until she was face to face with me. My mind was clear now and all the pain was gone.

Those hollow eyes stared at mine. Her hair had come loose in chunks, flowing around her face. Pale skin only made that haunted look more exaggerated.

"Wow." I said. "You really ought to get out more. Get the helmet off, get some sun?"

She screamed and threw her helmet across the room. "See how you react to more pain!" She yelled, gesturing to the control lever again, but I preempted her and tilted it the other way. The handle snapped. She shrieked like a wild thing and took the hilt of her sabre in her hand, that wicked, curved hilt with a pointed end. She ignited the red blade and came at me, screaming again.

I was quick enough to gesture to the control panel where the release catch was for my chair. I went tumbling out of it and down to the ground, my muscles not happy with me for being motionless for so long. She swung at me and I dodged, then again and I ducked. Another swipe and I dipped my head away. I dived out of the next blow, and when I dodged the next attack she hit the door control panel and the doors slid open.

"Hey!" Shouted one of the two guards, but I force pushed them both into the wall and they didn't get up.

"I'm going to dice you into pieces!" She snarled, approaching me as I backed out into the hallway.

"I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that!" I said, turning to run, but then there was a shaking and tilting that I recognised all to well as the ship I was on being hit by a major attack. Ok, that was great but I really had to get myself off this thing if my side were about to blow it up.

"Gotta run!" I called over my shoulder, turning to see her stagger back to her feet and put her helmet back on. She was real mad.


	16. Chapter 15

**Ok, here we go, lets cut to the chase and get straight into the action. If you were reading this as I posted it weekly, here is where a 'previously on' would sit!**

Chapter 15 - One does not simply waltz off a star destroyer!

The destroyer rocked again and I was thrown into the wall of the long corridor I had been running down. The floor tilted and suddenly I was almost at forty five degrees to the floor, with one foot on the wall.

Troopers were running all over the place and mouse droids beeped and squealed as they blurred past me. I continued moving forwards, totally ignored by troops and officers who had much more important things to worry about, but I did have the sensation that I was still being followed.

"Coward!" Roared Connie's voice inside my head. "Have the courage of conviction to follow through your actions, not simply dessert them!" She was approaching, getting closer. "You would have made an excellent partner, now you will die!"

"An excellent partner?" I asked, my mouth not moving. "Hunting and murdering children? Did they steal your soul?"

Then I had to duck as a red lightsaber came hurtling towards my head. She was just down the corridor, arm outstretched, helmet back on. The sabre twisted in mid air and flew back to her, cutting deadly slashes in the corridor walls. She screamed again in frustration as I turned and ran suddenly finding myself in one of the engine rooms, so I must have been at the rear of the ship. The core hummed and crackled and several engineers scurried around with tools as pipes were spitting out steam here and there. I continued through the room avoiding the people in here until she appeared in the doorway and screamed "Stop him!". This caused many heads to snap in my direction.

A trooper happened to be a few feet away and he levelled his blaster at me, but I was quick enough to force pull it from his hands and into mine. "I really need to get off this thing." I said, to nobody but myself.

I aimed at her, but as I did I could feel the weapon straining in my hands as she tried to tear it away. Then another explosion rippled through the ship sending everyone flying.

I found myself in a pile of equipment so I made a grab for whatever I could, the blaster now long gone, and got myself out of there and into another corridor. As I ran I looked at my hand and saw I had a hydro spanner. Great. Also my hands were covered in blood. Even better.

There was a sickening squeal of metal twisting and I turned again to see her a ways behind me, arms outstretched again. He helmet was now broken, a large part of the front missing and from this distance I could just make out the side of her face, one eye burning with hot rage.

"What the hell is happening?" Yelled a trooper to an officer as he ran by. I took off behind them, trying to keep up.

"No idea! We must have run into a mine field or something. There are huge explosions on the hull!" The officer yelled. I assumed they must be heading for the escape pods so I tailed them until they noticed me.

"Hey you!" Yelled the trooper. "You're the prisoner!" He raised his blaster but I had covered too much ground and was able to swiftly smash him around the helmet with the spanner. Now you probably think the helmet saved him, but as all troopers would tell you, those suits of armour were more for show at that point in time.

"Where are the pods?" I shouted at the officer, aware that she was approaching once more.

He pointed down the hallway. "That way and take a..." That was all he could get out because suddenly he was grasping his neck. Then his head twisted at an unnatural angle and he crumpled to the ground.

"I'm getting tired of this bitch!" I muttered as I took off again. She wasn't running, just moving at a steady pace, never stopping. I assumed I would have to face her properly at some point.

I turned a corner to see a crowd of bodies all pushing in one direction. "Pods must be that way." I said to myself and turned the other way just in time to be rocked by another explosion. The whole ship seemed to shake.

A little ways down the hall I found myself in a hangar with several walkers and AT-ATs. This was obviously the ground assault hangar. Not very helpful to me, I needed a TIE or a shuttle or something.

Small explosions were happening all around me and now she was in the hangar with me. I looked for a way out but saw nothing. Another exit was on fire and there was debris everywhere. I backed up but it seemed like the end of the line.

"Nowhere to run!" This was her real voice, tinged with the robotic sound of her mangled helmet. She was close enough fo me to see one side of her mouth curled into a sneer and the burning hate in one eye. "You have destroyed everything!" She screamed, her voice high and deadly. "We could have been the most feared in the galaxy!"

"If you wanted a date you could have just asked!" I yelled. "There was no need for the chair of pain!"

Again she screamed and started to run towards me, lightsaber ignited, ready for the kill. Then there was another huge crash and explosion as part of the hangar wall caved in. There I could make out a part of the Piccalo's hull. Could it really be or was I just imagining things?

Blaster fire started to ripple through the air as troopers from the adjacent area tried to fight off the crew of the Piccalo but the random nature of the ship's destruction made any kind of battle very difficult to fight.

Connie was again picking herself up from the ground, casting her smashed helmet aside, hair flying wild in the wind. There was a storm of fire, wind and steam, blaster bolts everywhere. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Hunter!" It was Mal. "Here!" He threw something into the air, and I jumped, moving myself away from Connie and extending a hand to catch it. I landed on both feet in a crouched position and looked up. She was now only about ten feet away from me, having covered some quick ground across the smashed walkers.

"Now I have you!" She growled, rearing back her red blade and bringing it down, but it was stopped, clashing with my own purple blade. The lasers crashed and squealed as they made contact, flashing and blurring.

She tried again, a hammer blow from above but this time I parried and moved swiftly aside. Frustration was taking over as she violently swung at my head. I ducked out and made an attack of my own, which she was barely able to recover and parry. Now we squared up to each other.

It is important to note at this stage that there are many styles of lightsaber combat, those trained in the arts have their styles and methods. While I was training in isolation I had gained the materials to read so that I would know these styles and be able to work against them. I could tell immediately that she was employing the Djem So form, aggressive and less mobile. I had wondered why because she was actually slim and athletic build, but now I noticed one of her legs was not moving freely. It could be a prosthetic from the way it moved, explaining the use of the form. A form I knew to be used by Darth Vader, who had trained the inquisitors.

Had she been considering the same question of my form, I would expect she would have come up short of answers. I had taught myself to use the sabre, and as such I had no real form, just a pile of instincts and reactions. She didn't yet know that I also fought dirty, a little left over from my marine days where any tactic that helped was a good tactic.

We squared off again, moving across the hangar away from my friends. I could hear them in battle with the troopers, and the sounds were becoming distant so they must have been driven away a little.

We headed for a corridor and she slashed, and I parried. Then several more blocks and parries, leaving slashes in the wall. We were moving along a corridor, her forcing me backwards, always looking for an opening. "Your fighting style is sloppy." She laughed. "This will be easy!"

"It gets the job done." I replied, trying a one two combo, left and right which she was able to deflect. Without warning she chopped down from overhead and I skipped backwards falling into a deeper stance. She seemed surprised to see me switch so quickly, and more so when I leapt into the air. We were in another hangar, this one full of TIEs, but none looked as if they could fly because the destruction of the ship had ravaged the hangar.

She ran forward and began a flurry of blows which I blocked, parried and dodged, occasionally pulling in a counter of my own, but she was fast enough to match me. I could tell I wasn't going to win this with power or speed, so I flipped over her and attacked from the opposite side, a quick thrust to the chest followed by a swipe at the leg. Nothing, she diverted those attacks and tried a roundhouse which almost caught me off guard. It caught the shoulder of my jacket with a hiss.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Do you know how much this thing cost!" She ignored me and hacked at my head. I moved just in time to see her smash a cluster of pipes that exploded in billowing steam.

By this point I had analysed her style long enough to have a strategy. She also had the weakness of the leg, something I did not wish to call attention to as I avoided going all out for it, I just used that minor lack of mobility to my aid.

I noticed a high bridge across the back of the hangar so I flipped up to it and landed on both feet, deactivating my sabre. She followed, jumping high but landing stiffly. Now we were in close quarters combat, and quick movement was important. She lunged and I flipped my blade back into action, parrying and blocking. The hand rail was struck and soon the bridge was unstable.

"I must destroy you!" She hissed, rearing back for another attack."

"Why?" I panted. "Why not leave the darkness. You can make life what you want it."

"My life is over" she rasped. "And so is yours!" She lunged forwards again, power attacks flowing now one after the other but diminishing in energy as she began to tire.

I was leading the fight now, and as I parried and blocked I moved back along the bridge, headed back beyond the previous hangar towards my crew. Her motions were becoming laboured and slow, yet more dangerous as her frustration grew. I skipped back to avoid a death blow and she hit a wall console, showering sparks everywhere.

The ship was lurching one was and another which didn't help, and all around us things were either exploding or falling apart.

"Really." I said, breathing heavily. "Join us. Be free. Disappear and live the life you want, free from pain and horror."

"I can't!" She cried, another heavy blow cutting down a bridge support and making it teeter precariously. "You don't know the power, the pull of the darkness!" She dodged to avoid one of my glancing attacks.

Then we were in the hanger where the Piccalo was partly wedged, thirty or more troopers set up at one side in a battle with my crew who were all hunkered down behind some wreckage. Syd was sniping them efficiently but slowly, Mal pumping out bolts with two blasters.

"Up here!" Yelled Connie, and the troopers turned, seeing her intentions, they started to fire on me. I used my sabre to deflect their bolts, which I must admit was rather hair raising. The first time you do it, a blaster bolt hurtling towards you, a tiny slice of laser is all you have, but when that goes off in a new direction your confidence increases and it becomes easier.

What did not make it easier was her attack, another flurry of blows. Driving me back. Then I saw my opportunity.

"Mal!" I Yelled. "Now!" He looked up and gave me a salute, throwing an impulse grenade into the cluster of troops.

"Go!" He yelled, leading the crew to the Piccalo. The grenade exploded sending troopers flying in all directions, and knocking out a support on our bridge.

As we fell she attacked thrusting and swiping at my head, but I quickly parried, now fighting one handed in a fencing style. Then, just as she lined up a final attack, planning to use the force to knock away my blade and follow in with a thrust, I saw my opportunity.

With my blade I feigned high and to her left, as if to cut back down from her shoulder. But as she twisted easily to avoid this I took the hydro spanner in my left hand and threw it, embedding it in her robotic thigh.

She screamed, falling to one knee, looking up at me with hate filled eyes as I flipped backwards and landed on two feet by the ramp of the Piccalo which was just beginning to rise. Mal and Syd were on the ramp, laying down covering fire on the troops who now were firing at the ship. I used my sabre again to deflect bolts, standing on the ramp.

"Go!" Yelled Mal, and we ran up the ramp and into the ship. The last thing I saw before the door closed was Connie, standing in the opening, hair blowing in the wild winds. "Hit her!" Yelled Mal.

"You got it skip!" Replied Vray from up front. He slammed the console and we watched from the window as the destroyer was suddenly ripped apart by a line of explosions along it's hull.

"Are those..." I paused. "Mining charges?" Mal nodded, smiling.

"Yeah we've been collecting them!" He was far to pleased with himself. "And it's not as if you just waltz off a Star Destroyer!"

"We're not out of this yet!" Called Ceaz, pointing to a swarm of fighters coming our way. The destroyer was now just a fireball but that wouldn't stop the TIEs coming at us.

"Program a course!" Mal barked at Vray. "You co-pilot" He pointed at me to sit. "Syd and I will man the guns." With that he ran off followed by Syd who seemed excited to get to shoot things.

"What the hell man, I thought you would just leave me!" I said to Ceaz as I jumped into the co-pilot seat and started punching buttons.

"How could we leave you with that?" He asked, concentrating on zipping around the incoming fighters. "You're part of the family now brother." He looked over and smiled, then hollered over his shoulder. "Vray how long on that course?"

"Where do you want to go?" Yelled Vray, full panic mode.

"Anyplace that isn't here!" Shouted Ceaz, weaving and zipping.

"Ok, got it!" Said Vray, calming himself.

"Ready?" I asked. A beat, two. Then four TIEs appeared in our view-screen, bearing down on us, ready for the kill."

"Go!" Yelled Vray and I hit the lever. The TIEs were gone, the stars blurred into the welcome vortex of hyperspace.

Mal and Syd appeared in the cockpit. "Nice work." Mal said. "Where are we headed?"

"Quiberion sector. No idea whats there but it's far enough away." Panted Vray.

We moved back into the ready room and they surrounded me. "You ok?" Asked Vray.

"Yeah I'm good." I said, feeling like a physical wreck. "She was one angry woman."

"You men make us that way." Said Syd with a smile.

"You know you're repairing the ship." Said Mal with a broad grin.

"Who in their right mind attacks a destroyer with mining charges?" I asked

"Well the operation was done." Said Ceaz. "They bombed the farm, we were damn lucky to get out."

"I never told them." I said, holding out my hands.

"Yeah we know." Said Mal. "It was Yer. That son of a bitch went postal and tried to burn it all down. We just know they never found the fake shipments so those bastards will struggle to shoot straight for some time."

"Wanna make it even harder for them?" I asked. They all looked at me quizzically, so I went to a cupboard in the kitchenette and pulled out a small fob. "This is the self destruct for the angels kiss." I said.

"You parked it in a venerable spot of the mine, didn't you?" Asked Mal. I nodded. "You sure you want to lose her?"

"I want her gone." I said. "She represents a different me. A me nobody would have fought to rescue."

"Do it." Said Ceaz. Mal nodded, Vray gave me a thumbs up and Syd put a hand on my shoulder. I squeezed the trigger on the fob and a small red light flashed several times. Then it beeped, long and loud before all the lights came on, then it fell silent.

"No more mine?" Asked Vray.

"No more mine." I replied.

"We need a new home." Said Mal softly, hand on Ceaz back. "Sorry we destroyed your family farm."

"It wasn't really a farm anymore, was it?" He replied smiling. "And I always wanted to move somewhere different.

Just then TT-19 started to warble. "Incoming message." I said, so we crowded round the projection table. "Put it up buddy." He beeped and whistled then a hologram of a woman appeared. A woman in white robes, beautiful yet sad.

"Mon Mothma" whispered Mal.

"This is a message to all rebel cells that have the ability to help. We need your support. There is a mission on an Imperial facility on Scarif, and immediate air support is required." She paused which only allowed the gravitas of her message to sink in further. "This day could mark the true beginning of the rebellion, and we ask you to put all available ships and guns on the line. Some of you may not make it out of the battle, but know this, every sacrifice will be for the greater good of bringing down the Empire and preventing further horrors. Thank you, and god speed. May the force be with you."

We looked at each other for a long moment as the hologram faded away. All faces were serious. Mal, of course, spoke first.

"Set a course for Scarif. Syd and I will man the guns." We all went to our posts. As I sat in the copilot seat I looked over at Ceaz who was just pulling us out of hyperspace.

"Don't worry buddy." I said. "We're a family."

Vray gave the nod and I pulled the lever setting us on a hyperspace route to Scarif. Today we would become part of something bigger.

Final Diary log entry

Hunter, B

Technician

Sabre Squad

**And there we have it. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Personally I found it to be very enjoyable to write. Any critique is always appreciated, and if anyone would like to beta read for me, then please let me know as it would help with those silly spelling errors and potential continuity blunders.**

**Anyway, I guess the next thing I write will be more Twilight for wifey, but I fully intend to come back to this timeline (Provided its even something people want to read.)**

**And so I say a big thank you, and hopefully you can check my other stuff.**

**Over and Out!**


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